New Blood
by StarvingLunatic
Summary: For the Halloween spirit. Kim and Ron go looking for missing persons, only for Kim to become one. Is it really because of a vampire? The story will be Kigoish.
1. Disbelief

I don't own these characters. I also don't own Dracula. I do suppose I own Adrian, though.

Okay, I wouldn't say this is full kigo. More like a kigo-ish substance. Still if that isn't your thing, you might wanna flee now.

And for those of you that stuck around for the kigo, the beginning of this story might disturb you. Ah well.

New Blood

1: Disbelief

A familiar beeping noise caused two groans from two teens as it rang out through an empty house. The pair untangled themselves from each other; they had been making out on the sofa since they had the house to themselves as teenage couples tended to do. They sat up and Kim answered the Kimmunicator.

"What's the sitch, Wade?" the redhead inquired as usual, doing her best not to sound as breathless as she felt.

"Am I interrupting something?" Wade asked because the hero looked rather flushed in his opinion. It did not help that her hair was slightly mussed.

"What's the sitch?" Kim deadpanned because of the teasing smirk that the computer genius was wearing.

"Well, I'm getting mixed messages about something going on in Romania. Now, I'm pretty sure people are disappearing from villages around a certain area," Wade reported.

She arched an eyebrow. "So, what's the mixed messages?"

"Well, some people are saying that a vampire is doing it," he answered with his mouth twisted up in a skeptical look.

"A vampire?" she echoed with a wrinkled forehead. _People watch too many movies, but then again, it is Romania and vampires are just part of their folklore anyway_.

Wade shrugged and made a confused face of his own. "Hey, that's what people are saying, some people anyway. I mean, they all agree that people are vanishing, but they're not agreeing why."

"When you say vampire, you mean like Dracula?" Ron inquired while edging his way into the screen of the Kimmunicator.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what they mean," Wade answered.

"Wow," the blond boy muttered.

"So …?" Wade said because he wanted to know what the team was going to do.

"You got a ride for me or what?" Kim asked with a smile. She would get down to the bottom of it and show that there was no vampire. Hey, she believed a lot of things, but vampires were way too far out.

"Of course," Wade answered with a smile all his own, as if he should have known what Kim would do.

"Well, then, we'll go check it out and get to the bottom of everything," Kim stated and with that, she and Ron were now on their way to Romania. Ron would have preferred to just stay at the house and make out with his girlfriend, but then again, most boys would have preferred that more than likely, especially if they believed in vampires like Ron did.

-8-8-8-8-

Kim and Ron quickly got details on the situation from several villagers in several different villages. It would seem that the center of the controversy was some woods where an ancient castle sat ominously in the middle atop a rocky hill, appearing to almost loom over the surrounding area. They had been cautioned about the castle because it was where the supposed vampire lived. Kim was skeptical while Ron, as expected, believed every word of their stories, no matter how wild the tale. In fact, the stranger the story, the more believable it was to him.

Apparently, the vampire that lived in the castle, according to the villagers' legends anyway, was an ancient. He moved around the globe at his own leisure, having castles or other estates everywhere, but every now and then he always returned to that castle in the center of the forests because he liked the view. He also liked the blood of the young people around the castle and they claimed that he had already abducted a dozen teens from various villages in the past few months.

"K.P, maybe we should wait for dawn to do this," Ron commented. They still had a few hours of daylight, but he would prefer to have a whole day ahead of them if they were going to be wandering around vampire-infested woods.

"Come on, Ron. You don't really believe all this vampire stuff, do you?" she asked as she searched the forest for clues regarding the missing people.

"Um … yeah!" he answered. "We've seen much crazier things in our lives and we're not even out of high school yet! Who knows what's out there that we haven't seen! Like vampires! How can you even be skeptical about this?" He was almost ready to believe in the tooth fairy again thanks to all of the bizarre things that they had seen.

"Yes, we've seen some bizarre things, but almost none of them supernatural," she pointed out.

"But, _some_ have been supernatural, which makes this something that could happen," he countered.

Kim only shook her head. She could not see how he believed all of those stories about a vampire. The people claimed that the vampire, who they called Adrian, liked to kidnap young people, hoping to find a companion among them. But, then they claimed that he never found one and drained each failure of their blood. _He's supposed to be hundreds of years old, but can't to find a companion in all of those years?_ She did not think that was likely. After a hundred or so years, anyone could meet someone to complement him in her opinion. Since the vampire could not, it just added to her skepticism on the whole story.

"Find anything, Ron?" Kim asked as she peered into some bushes.

"You mean found any freakishly scary vampires? No, and I'm not trying to," he answered quite seriously in his usual animated fashion.

"What are you talking about? Will you forget about the vampire stuff? Take things seriously and look for some clues on the missing people. Twelve people are missing or did you forget that?" she pointed out.

"Did you forget about the freaky vampire?" he countered.

"There is no vampire!" she huffed, a frown cutting its way onto her face. _Dammit, we have a serious crisis on their hands_. Twelve people were missing and who knew what happened to them and he was focusing on some mythological monster.

"Are you sure about that?" he said, a scowl on his face, too. Neither of them could see the other's expression, of course, since they were both looking for clues.

Kim took a calming breath and figured that she would corner her best friend with logic. "Okay, Ron, have you ever met a vampire?" she asked in a patient tone. She would try to get his mind off of the vampire nonsense, so he could help her search for clues on what happened to the missing individuals.

"Nope," he answered honestly.

"Have you ever met someone who met a vampire?"

"Nope."

"Have you ever met someone that's even seen a vampire?"

"Nope," he admitted. None of the villagers that they talked to had admitted to seeing the vampire and no living soul had met the vampire either, so he had a record of zero going on with vampire sightings.

"Well, wouldn't that lead you to believe that there's no vampire?" Kim reasoned.

"Why would there be a mystical castle on a mountain in middle of the woods like that then?" he inquired while pointing to the spooky castle on the hill.

"We're in Romania. There're probably hundreds of creepy castles on hills," she pointed out. She would like to go a country on the entire massive continent of Euroasia and not find a castle on a hill somewhere.

"But, how many of them have vampires in them?" he countered.

Kim growled and balled up her fists in anger. She then took another calming breath and just told herself to drop the subject. After all, Ron was the type that could carry on the conversation for a billion years considering the fact that he more than likely did believe that there was a vampire and would just use speculation to fuel his side. Nothing that she said would convince him otherwise more than likely, she told herself, so it was best to just let it go.

"Just look for clues about the missing people," Kim sighed.

"Fine, but can we get out of here before the sun goes down?" he requested.

Kim sighed again. "If we can figure this out, yes."

Ron got to work because of that answer. He was not looking to find out if there was really a vampire or if it was just a myth. He could understand Kim's skepticism, but he really preferred erring on the side of caution. After all, they were not prepared to fight a vampire.

They were not finding much evidence on anything and the sun was getting closer to setting. Ron was getting nervous and antsy with each second that ticked by. He kept glancing up at the sky and it was starting to bother Kim. They were supposed to trying to find missing people and he was not even trying anymore it seemed.

"K.P, can we get going now?" Ron requested with a tremble in his voice.

"Relax, Ron. It's not even night time yet," she replied, gesturing to the sky that he was so fascinated with.

"It's close enough! Look, do you want to find out if there's a vampire or not?" he hollered in a panic, throwing his hands up as if he were going to tear out his own hair. He was really not looking to find out about the thing, especially since he believed that the villagers might have a point.

"There is no vampire," she huffed. _Why doesn't he get this? There is no such thing as vampire and there never would be_.

They searched around for a little while until Ron seriously started freaking out about the sun going down. So, they turned to leave, returning to a path that led out of the forest. As they hit the path, Ron thought that he noticed movement in the trees. He gulped and walked closer to Kim, as if she would protect him. Unmanly, yes, but safe as hell.

"Um … Ron," Kim said, glancing at him with an arched eyebrow.

"Yeah?" he replied while looking around in every direction. No vampire or other supernatural being would get the drop on him.

"What are you doing?" she inquired curiously, even though she was certain that she did not want to know.

"Um … checking to make sure you're not cold," he lied with a nervous grin on his face.

"Be serious."

"Well, you didn't see something in the bushes, did you?" he asked and he looked back over there to make sure the "something" was gone.

"No, I didn't and if you did, we're in the woods. It's more than likely an animal of some kind," she informed him.

The blond boy nodded to that because it could have been an animal. They were in the woods, but still, all he could think about was the vampire and everything that the villagers had said about the creature of the night. He started pushing Kim, hoping to get her to walk faster. Hey, he was supposed to protect her, being her boyfriend and everything. He felt the best way to protect her would be to get her out of the dangerous forest.

"Will you quit pushing me," Kim huffed, scowling at him.

Ron did not respond and continued pushing her. She turned to him about to yell, but she tripped over a rock and fell on her face because of his shoving. She muttered mock-swear words into the dirt while Ron tried to help her up. She pulled away from him and was about to holler at him when she noticed the color drain from his face. Ron looked absolutely terrified, which told Kim that she needed to turn around.

Kim was not sure what she expected to see as she turned around. Maybe a wolf or a bear; just some kind of animal in the forest that might attack her. She was probably not too far off as far as Ron was concerned, but she did not see the big deal. She was facing a tall man that was dressed completely in black. She thought that he was probably one of the villagers.

The probable villager was blond and pale. He looked rather dignified and debonair with defined features. He had a slender long face with piercing blue eyes and a strong jaw. His hair was short and wavy, falling to his shoulders. He appeared to be in his late twenties or so.

"Ron, why are you looking like that?" Kim asked. "He's just a guy."

"Kim, he just rose out of the shadows. I'm talking right up out of the shadows," Ron answered. He had seen the guy just appear while Kim missed out on that fact since the guy was at her back.

"Don't be silly, Ron," Kim said, brushing off the comment with a wave of her hand.

"Oh, he's not being silly, my dear. I did come right out of the shadows. You two were making so much noise that I just had to come see what it was all about and here it is I find a curious creature," the guy remarked in a charming voice while eyeing Kim in a way that she would say was like a snake with its senses locked on a mouse.

Ron did not say anything; he just grabbed Kim and made a run for it. Kim did not object and they bolted down the path, only to find out that it was useless. They ran right into the immaculately dressed, pale man again. They stopped before they ran him over and he lounged at the both of them. The pair leaped apart and the pale, blue-eyed man went after Ron.

Ron yelped when he noticed that he was the target. He dived behind a bush for cover and Kim launched herself at the mysterious man that was trying to attack her best friend. The pale male turned to her when the blow landed. He was stunned that she had come at him in such a way and he smirked at her, revealing some rather long fangs for a human being. She got into a fighting stance.

"You are quite a thing. I suppose it was good that I came to inspect the noise," he commented in an amused tone. From his experience, most women would have fled while they had the chance if he went after the male. And even if they did not flee, they would scream or attack him in some weak fashion. She had hit him rather strongly and her stance practically radiated power.

"Leave him alone," Kim warned the black-clad male.

"I think I will."

The tall, trim male urged Kim to attack with two long fingers, but Kim did not take him up on the offer. He decided to goad her in a different fashion. He grabbed Ron with a speed that neither of member of Team Possible could comprehend. They had not even seen him move. He held the teenage boy by the throat and squeezed enough to get Ron to scream in pain. The freckle-faced teen immediately started turning red.

"Let him go!" Kim ordered and she attacked.

The pale man watched as the redheaded hero came at him with a flurry of kicks that seemed to pass right through him. He craned a blond eyebrow as he watched Kim come at him with such determination. He could not help the smile that worked its way onto his face. Yes, he was very happy that he had come to see what all the commotion was about. _She's quite entertaining_, he thought. He had not met a woman like her before.

He flung Ron away as if the boy was useless and worthless. Ron's back and head impacted a tree. He dropped to the forest floor in a heap, but had enough energy to look up and check on Kim, even though his vision was a little fuzzy around the edges. She was giving the guy her all, but she was not even hitting him.

"You are a darling little thing. I'm Lord Adrian and you are?" the pale male asked Kim as she backed away from him to rethink her attack.

"Adrian? He's the vampire, K.P!" Ron realized. It certainly explained a lot to him, like why the guy moved so swiftly and how he just popped out of the shadows. Ron could not believe he did not realize it sooner, not that it would have helped any.

"There aren't any vampires," Kim replied as she kept her eyes on the stranger. She panted a little, trying to catch her breath.

"Oh, but there are," Adrian commented and he moved toward Kim.

Before the redhead realized it, Adrian had her in his grip. And then before she could scream, he sank his teeth deep into her soft flesh. Ron gasped while Kim struggled against the pale man biting her.

"Let her go!" Ron ordered as he charged Adrian.

The vampire put out a hand and Ron was stopped in his tracks. Adrian then waved and sent Ron flying into a tree. Ron wished that someone had mentioned that the vampire was telekinetic. The tree was uprooted from the force that the teen boy hit it with and Ron collapsed to the ground, unable to move for the moment. Adrian turned his attention back to Kim as she fell limp in his arms, unconscious due to blood loss.

"I'm going to take this one with me, boy. You're lucky because she has satisfied my thirst for now. You're free to go," Adrian informed Ron.

"I won't let you have her," Ron declared in a weak voice as he attempted to climb to his feet. He could not make it further than pushing himself up on shaking arms.

"You don't have any choice. Just be happy I left you with your life. The woman is mine now," Adrian said and disappeared into a shadow.

"No, K.P!" Ron cried. "No."

The blond struggled his feet despite all of the agony that he was in and managed to stay on his feet. Once he was up, he then wondered what he should do. _Should I run to the castle and try to face Adrian again before the vampire kills Kim, if he hasn't already?_ He doubted that he would do Kim much good doing that. Adrian did just mop the floor with him with a wave of his hand, after all.

The alternative was not much better. He could call Wade and explain that a vampire kidnapped Kim and he needed backup of all kinds to come help him get her back. _Even if Wade believes me, how many other people would believe that crazy story?_ He doubted that anyone that could help would believe him. Making matters worse, he was sure that if he was examined, they would find him concussed and dismiss the whole thing as a dream due to head trauma. He had to try, though; _Kim's life is on the line, after all_. He pulled out his Kimmunicator.

"Ron?" Wade said when he saw who was calling him. "If you're trying to ask about the webcam thing again—"

"No, Wade, this is serious! K.P was kidnapped by a vampire!" Ron reported as he held the back of his head. He was not surprised to see blood on his fingertips when he pulled his hand back.

"A vampire?" Wade echoed incredulously with a furrowed brow.

Ron scowled. "Look, I know it sounds crazy! God, do I know it sounds crazy, but those people were right. There is a vampire and he's got K.P!"

"Ron, calm down—" Wade tried to say.

"How can I calm down? A monster just sucked K.P's blood and kidnapped her right in front of me and I couldn't do anything to stop him!" the blond boy pointed out in a heated tone. He had been totally useless to his best friend and girlfriend.

"Okay, Ron, calm down. I'll get help and you'll find Kim. I'm sure she's all right," the computer genius tried to assure his friend.

"How can she be all right with a vampire drinking her blood?" Ron asked in a panic as he began pacing back and forth.

"Ron, just calm down."

Wade stayed on the line with Ron to try to keep him calm while trying to find some help for Kim. He doubted that things were as bad as Ron were making them out to be. After all, Kim could do anything, so even if she was kidnapped, she probably would not stay that way for long. Whoever had her was probably going to regret it in due time. And he highly doubted that it was a vampire that had her.

-8-8-8-8-

Global Justice sent a couple of agents to help Ron search for Kim. It was clear that Doctor Director had not taken the distress call very seriously, even though the agents had arrived barely fifteen minutes after Ron called for assistance. Doctor Director thought along the same lines as Wade. If Kim were kidnapped, which she actually doubted, the girl would undoubtedly get away on her own. So, the agents she sent were there to see if Kim might have actually been abducted. They were not there to find Kim, which Ron picked up on almost immediately.

"Hey, can you two stop looking around?" the blond hollered at the pair of agents. "I told you she's in the castle and if we want to get her back, we'll need a hell of a lot more than the three of us!"

Ron was pretty much ignored. The pair of Global Justice agents did not see any signs of Kim being taken away from the spot that they were standing in. All of the footprints around the area were in that location as were all the signs of a struggle. They knew Ron had been a part of the fighting based on all of the blood drenching the back of his shirt from a head wound he refused to let them examine.

Perhaps Kim was kidnapped, the agents considered, but they were not sure how the person got her away from the space that they were in now. There were no broken tree branches to indicate that the person flew away with her and no single pair of tracks to show that the person ran off with her. There were no tire impressions or even hoof impressions from a horse to show a speedy getaway. It was like they vanished, which Ron tried to them was just what happened.

The agents decided that Kim's disappearance deserved "further investigation," but by that time they had lost young Mister Stoppable. Ron set off for the castle on his own. He was not sure what he was going to do once he got there, but he was going to get his best friend/girlfriend back before Adrian had a chance to kill her or worse. He knew that they did not have time to fool around like Global Justice seemed to think.

When Ron got to the castle, he was out of breath, lightheaded, and still lacking a plan of attack. None of the doors were opened for him to get in and neither were any windows. The whole place was sealed shut to the point that he doubted even air got into the castle. That did not put him off because he wanted Kim back now. He found a large rock and chucked it at a low window, shattering the dark glass. He did that a few more times and then climbed into the now open window. He cut his palms on the broken glass, but he could care less about that. He barely even registered that he had injured his hands.

"My, you are a persistent young lad," Adrian commented as he appeared right in front of Ron from a shadow. The boy yelped in surprise and fell back against the wall.

"Where's K.P?" Ron demanded in a hard tone as he regained his composure. He reminded himself that he was not only the sidekick of the great Kim Possible, but he was also holder of mystical monkey magic. _I could definitely take a vampire, especially since K.P is counting on me!_

"Resting in my bed. I'm hoping she gets her strength back up slowly. I want it to take a while before I drain her of every last drop of blood," Adrian answered as if that was the most logical response to the question. He wore a half-smile as he spoke.

"I won't let you kill her," Ron declared with determination and hatred in his gaze.

"You don't have a say in the matter. Now, I was merciful before, boy, but you seem to have a death wish," the pale vampire stated with an amused smirk on his chalk white face.

"Give her back!" the teenager growled as he launched himself at Adrian.

The vampire laughed and dodged the boy's attack. Adrian appeared behind Ron, but the sidekick seemed to be aware of that and kicked at the vampire. Adrian caught Ron's leg and smiled again.

"Both of you seem to be interesting characters, but I get the feeling that she has a stronger will than you do and that's what I want. I've made my decision, boy. I'm keeping the girl and there's nothing you can do about it," Adrian informed Ron.

"There's plenty I can do!" Ron declared. _I'll get Kim back or die trying!_

The teen tried to strike at Adrian, hoping that his mystical monkey kung-fu would pay off in someway, but alas, no. Adrian dropped the boy with ease and seemed to vanish again. Ron realized a split second too late where Adrian was. The vampire grabbed the boy and bit into his neck. Ron quickly lost consciousness as his blood was rapidly drained from his system.

-8-8-8-8-

Ron groaned as he woke up in a hospital bed. He felt so sore, he noted as he opened his eyes. He looked around the room and noticed that he was in the hospital. _Was it all a dream?_ He hoped so because that meant that Kim was all right.

"Finally awake, Mister Stoppable," Doctor Director commented, causing him to turn his head in her direction. She was standing in the doorway.

"Doctor Director? Where's Kim?" Ron asked curiously.

"We don't know, Mister Stoppable," she admitted with a tired sigh.

"What?" His brow wrinkled and he searched her face for some meaning because he did not understand. _It was a dream! It had to be a dream! There's no way that was real_.

"We don't know where Miss Possible is. She's been missing for two days now," Doctor Director informed him.

"Two days? How long have I been out?" he asked in shock.

"Approximately the same amount of time. My agents found you unconscious at the foot of the hill that that castle was on in Romania. You were bruised, bleeding, pale, and cold. You would've died if they hadn't found you. You should be more careful in high places," she commented.

Ron blinked. "Wait, in Romania? Where are we now?"

"In Middleton," she answered as if it was obvious. "We left Romania as soon as we were certain that it was all right to move you, Mister Stoppable. You have several head injuries, too. You definitely should be more careful. Where would we be if you had cracked your head open on one of those sharp rocks as you went down that hill?"

"What? You think I fell? I didn't fall! The vampire that kidnapped K.P bit me!" Ron insisted. The vampire bit him and then probably chucked him down the hill. It would explain why everything hurt on him.

"If that's the case, why aren't you a vampire?" she inquired, mostly to humor him. Of course, she did not believe his ridiculous tale of vampires.

"Hell if I know! That's not important. You have to get K.P out of that castle before he kills her!" Ron implored the leader of Global Justice. _What good is GJ if they can't save Kim?_

"Mister Stoppable, I've already got agents checking every part of that castle. If Miss Possible is there, they'll find her. Don't worry. She's done us plenty of favors already, so it's time for us to return one. Relax, we will find her," Doctor Director tried to assure him.

Ron had to take her word on it. He was too weak at the moment to do anything else; he could barely sit up. It felt like everything on him was broken, but since he did not see any casts, he guessed that at most things were sprained. There were plenty of damages wrapped around him, including his head.

He felt his neck and could feel two scars on the back. He did wonder why he was not a vampire since he was certain that Adrian had bitten him. He guessed he should just be thankful that he was not a bloodsucker and it was also plausible that Kim was not one if he was not.

-*-(New day)-*-

Adrian held Kim's limp body in his arms as he drained her of the last of her blood. She tasted so sweet. He doubted that there was a fruit on the planet that could even rival the flavor of her blood. She had struggled against him the whole time, which he enjoyed. She had so much energy; he wished he could devour that, too. But, now, he would have her to entertain him for a while, like the others.

_Maybe she will be different_, he silently hoped. He doubted it, though. Sooner or later, they all gave in and then they started getting boring. They got predictable for the most part in some way or another. They got predictable in a way that was not amusing, thinking that they were lofty creatures because of their new lives or groveling because they thought that he enjoyed the submissiveness. Things like that were the reasons that he tended to rid himself of companions and then go to sleep for a decade or more. Things just got so boring.

Adrian carried Kim's lifeless body to a pearl white coffin in the lower levels of his castle. He closed the lid and then climbed into his own tomb. He would see what to expect come sunset.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Shego enters the picture while Adrian gets to see what comes at sunset and beyond.


	2. Rebirth

I don't own these characters, except for Adrian.

2: Rebirth

Kim woke up in a panic because it was dark and cold. She was trapped in an enclosed space. She kicked and punched at the lid until it popped open. She sat up and noticed that she was in a casket. She was unsettled by that and yelped. She then quickly moved to get out of the box and took in her new surroundings.

She was in a rather bare room. The walls were stone, which let her know that she was probably still in Adrian's castle. _It's either that or a crypt and the crypt actually is a more pleasant thought_. The room seemed engulfed in darkness, but she could see clearly. Everything seemed different, but the same to her. She instinctively knew that something was not right.

"You even wake up lively, despite the fact that you're technically no longer alive," Adrian commented and the sound of his voice caused Kim to turn the vampire.

"Adrian," she growled and she put her hands up in defense.

"I've been waiting for you to rise," he informed her in an agreeable tone with a small, satisfied smile on his face.

"What do you mean?" she asked as her gaze narrowed on him in suspicion. She kept her hands up despite his casualness. She was not about to let him get close to her and let him bite her again. He had already bitten her four times by her count and she was right about that. Little did she know, but the last one had been fatal.

"Maybe I'll explain it later. How about you and I get something to eat? I know you're starving," he said with all the manners one would expect of a gentleman.

"Eat? You and I? I'm not going anywhere with a bloodsucker like you!" she declared, especially when as far as she knew, she was dinner to that man.

Adrian feigned injury to the words. He fell back slightly and put a hand to his chest. "Aw, my dear, you shouldn't say such a hurtful thing. After all, you, too, are a bloodsucker now," he informed her.

"What?" she inquired. _What's he ranting about now?_

"Yes, darling, you're now one of my kind. I thought it would be intriguing to have you around for a few centuries, well, if you can entertain me for that long." He continued smiling.

"I'm not … I'm not a …" Kim shook her head and looked down at herself. She looked the same as always, but she did not feel the same as always. Something was vastly different about her, like everything else, but she did not know what it was.

"Yes, you are. You're quite lovely now, in fact. I don't have the liberty of showing you your reflection."

"Because vampires don't have reflections?" she inquired in a shaky tone.

"Oh, no. We do have reflections, if we want to anyway. All solid objects have a reflection, after all. I just don't have a mirror at hand, but I don't need one to prove to you that you're now a vampire. Everything about you feels different right now, almost like you've stolen someone else's body, but you know it's yours. Still, you see things you haven't seen, hear things you haven't heard, and feel things you haven't felt. You can't explain it, but it feels like you're in a new world that looks just like the old one, but has so much more to offer. And you are, my dear, and it has. This world is new and that thirst nipping at the back of your throat is, too. You crave something you've never craved and you don't know what it is. You just know that you want it now," he replied.

Kim put a hand to her throat and realized that she was cold, but she really did not feel chilly at all. She was also thirsty, like he said. She was not sure what it was that she desired, but she did want it immediately, if not sooner. _Oh, god, am I craving blood, human blood?_

"Shall we dine, darling?" Adrian asked while extending his hand like a gentleman. If she allowed it, he would treat her like a lady. He was a lord, after all. He hoped that she allowed him to treat her as such. It would be nice to have a lady companion again after so long.

"No!" Kim replied as she reeled back and glared at him as if he were the devil himself. "I'm not a monster!" she screamed, practically roared at him.

"I know you're not. Come, I had guests these past few nights and was able to secure several bodies for you to taste."

Kim shook her head wildly. _I am not a monster!_ She bolted for the stairs, hoping to just get away from Adrian before he did anything else to her. Of course, there was not much else that he could do to her, physically speaking. There was also not much else he wanted to do to her physically speaking either. After all, he had already killed her and enjoyed every second of that. Well, he supposed that if push came to shove, he could always just kill her again. Perhaps it would be as pleasurable a second time.

In between that, he considered that torturing her might be fun. She had such a strong will and personality that he could imagine breaking her down would be entertaining. Then, once he broke her completely, he would kill her again.

Adrian watched Kim run and noted that she was a quick little thing, even without knowing all of the new talents at her disposal. He smiled as he decided to give her a head start, if only for the entertainment value. She had energy and he did like that.

Kim ran as fast as she could out of the castle and down the hill. She stumbled a bit down the way, but ignored that. She just picked herself up and kept running. _I have to get away from him before he does anything else to me_, she kept reminding herself. She sprinted into the forest, thinking that everything was going well since she did not see him behind her. She figured that she would be fine if she could just make it to a village. Instead, she ran right into Adrian with such force that she fell to the ground.

"Careful, my dear. You should get used to your new form before running out into the world. If you had done this when I woke up, you would've run right out into the setting sun and then where would we be?" Adrian commented while reaching down and offering her a hand.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed as she crawled away from him since her legs did not seem to want to get up yet.

"Come, darling. Dinner awaits us," he said, totally ignoring her outburst.

Adrian reached down and grabbed Kim. They then vanished into a shadow. They appeared in what looked like a dungeon. There were three men chained to the walls. They were GJ agents as far as Kim could tell because they were wearing GJ uniforms.

"What are you doing with them?" Kim demanded looking from the men to Adrian. She glared at him, knowing in her heart what he planned to do with them.

Adrian did not seem curious about her tone. He did not know that she was familiar with the men in a way and he did not care. That part of her would fade away soon, so he did not need to care about her life when she was human. She was dead as a human.

"They're dinner. Which would you like?" he inquired as if that was normal. He gracefully motioned to the men as if he was asking her to pick a lobster in a tank.

"None! Let them go!" Kim commanded, glaring at him with a look that made him chuckle and smirk.

The vampire lord shook his head. "I don't feel like letting them go and you need nourishment, darling."

"And stop calling me that! I'm not staying with you and I'm not letting you kill these men," the redhead declared.

Kim yanked away from Adrian and attacked him in an instant. He noticed that she was faster than the last time that she had tried to fight him, back when she was human. She was taking to be a child of the night quite well in exploiting that speed. If he were not able to make himself intangible, she certainly would have hit him several times. Instead, she wore herself out because he could become ethereal and she was not as well fed as he was. He suddenly grabbed her by the neck, picking her up and holding her to face him.

"You're fun to be around, darling, and so, you should eat to keep you strength up," he said in a whisper, close to her lips. She tried her best to turn her head to make sure that no accidents happen with their mouths being so disgustingly close.

Adrian flung Kim to the feet of one of the prisoners. She landed on her rump and put her hands out to keep from falling on her back. She was breathing hard, thanks mostly to her attempt to beat Adrian up. He ordered her to feed by pointing at the captives and she shook her head, refusing.

"You will do it eventually," Adrian said coolly.

"No, never," Kim insisted.

"Do you think I'll spare these men's lives if you don't eat? I've drained you dry, so now I do need fresh meat, my dear. So, if you don't drink from them, I'll take my fill and then leave them to rot with the rest of the carcasses."

"They're not cattle," she objected.

"They are to me and they will be to you. But, it is enjoyable to watch someone fight the thirst, so I'll watch you. I'll even tempt you, darling. We'll have fun together," Adrian proclaimed with a demonic smirk on his face and a look of evil in his yellow eyes.

-8-8-8-8-

Doctor Director sighed as she looked over a folder, studying it for what felt like the millionth time. Kim Possible was still missing and she had lost ten agents searching for the redhead around the area of that castle. It had been three months already and she was ready to presume that Miss Possible was dead, along with her missing agents. She did not like to believe that, but that was what the evidence was pointing toward. Well, actually, the lack of evidence. After all, if Miss Possible were not dead, she would have turned up by now.

She was dreading what she was going to have to do. She would have to scale back the search for the missing hero and also inform the girl's parents of that. She had stupidly assured the parents in the beginning that they would find Kim no matter what. She usually knew better than that, but they had looked so distraught and she had truly believed that they would find the girl, or that Kim would find them. It would seem that she had been wrong.

It was like Kim had vanished from the world and anyone that went looking for her either vanished or reported back there was nothing to find. Her Kimmunicator was not giving off a signal anymore; Adrian had come across the curious gadget when he had first taken Kim and crushed it because he had a feeling it was a communication device. They continuously searched around the place that the last signal came from, which was Adrian's castle. She did not understand why they could not find Kim in the area. They had not even come across the Kimmunicator in the area.

She hated thinking that Kim was probably dead and someone might have just buried her with her Kimmunicator in the last place that she was. Wade countered that thought by pointing out that the Kummunicator would still be on-line if that was the case. They had scanned that region in everyway feasible and had not found any trace of Kim other than what had been there before. They had branched out, searching other locations and finding nothing at all.

Kim was gone and that was that. She was going to tell the Possibles in person, it was the least that she could do. She hoped that they would be able to move on with their lives eventually, even though she knew that the relatives of a missing person had trouble dealing with it. A missing person was such a sketchy area. It was the unknown. Was the person alive or dead? Relatives usually clung to the hope that the person was alive and would one day return home.

As she was about to leave for the Possible residence, she was informed that Doctor Drakken was making a move. She sighed; _he's such a pest_. He had already caused trouble twice while they had bigger problems on their hands. Kim Possible was missing and Drakken was trying to sink the whole state of California for whatever reasons.

"Heaven help me, if only this guy made sense," Doctor Director muttered as she picked a team to go stop Drakken and then she left to go to the Possible home.

Doctor Director had to swallow around a lump in her throat. She was dreading her visit to the Possible house in ways that made her stomach knot up. She did not know what she was going to say to them. She doubted that there was anything that she could say. They were hoping for their little girl to return home, but it was not very likely now. She did not want to have to say that, though.

She arrived at the house in the late afternoon and the family was home. They invited her in and they all sat down in the living room. The doctors offered their guest food and drink, which she declined on. The twins were sent to their room because their parents were not going to chance the boys hearing bad news about their sister.

The tweebs had been trying to act like they did not mind Kim being gone and joked often that they were going to turn her room into a launch pad, but their usual enthusiasm was not in it. Sometimes, they could be found just staring in her room and it was clear that they were wondering when she was going to come back. They just always had a look of deep seeded sorrow in their eyes that told everyone that they missed their sister and hoped that she was all right.

Through out their lives, the boys never imagined what life would be like without Kim or that something might happen to her. With her missing, it was like constantly punching them in the stomachs with a spiked glove. They secretly wished that they had been nicer to her in case they never saw her again. They wished that they had told her that they admired her. They wished that they had just once told her that they loved her. So, she had to come back so they could make up for all of that. _She just has to, right?_ Well, that was another one of their wishes.

"Tell us you have good news," Mrs. Possible begged Doctor Director as they all sat down in the living room.

Betty sighed and shook her head. "I wish I did. It's the same as always. I'm afraid I'm going to have scale back the search for her, too," she reported and the parents gasped.

"What? Why?" James demanded, jumping to his feet and glaring down at Doctor Director.

"I've lost ten agents looking for her. They've vanished, just like Kim. We need to take this slow and figure out just what is going on. I'm not saying we're going to give up on your daughter, but that it seems something strange is going on involving her disappearance," Doctor Director said as calmly as she could.

Something strange was putting it mildly in her opinion. She could not believe that so many people disappeared in one place without a trace. Mister Stoppable was still pushing the vampire theory to whoever would listen and also whoever would not listen, and there were a lot of people not listening. She was convinced that he was suffering from a delusion that he had from his various head injuries from that struggle that cost the world Kim Possible and most people agreed with her.

Often, in the past three months, Ron had returned to the area on his own. Most of the time, GJ was able to safely escort him from what they looked at as their "crime scene," but he always came back. Unfortunately, he had as much luck as they did in finding anything before being dragged away by GJ agents.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" Mrs. Possible hollered as tears fell from her eyes. Her daughter was missing and had been for three months, so the last thing she wanted to hear was that the investigation was going to be slowed down because it was weird. _More effort should be poured into it because it's odd!_

"Just be patient. If Kim is still alive—" Betty started and those were the wrong words. She just realized it too late. She was already being cut off.

"_If_ she's alive?" James echoed in a horrified voice.

"You think she's dead?" Mrs. Possible said to Doctor Director in a shrill tone. The brain surgeon was up and pacing the living room while wiping tears from her cheeks. "My daughter is not dead! I know she isn't!"

"No, you misunderstand me," Doctor Director insisted, holding her hands up in front of her chest in a surrender-like gesture. "I was going to say that if anyone can come away from this bizarre series of events, it is your daughter. Kim can do anything, after all."

"Are you going to keep looking for her?" the distressed neurosurgeon begged, placing her hands in front of her mouth like she was praying.

"We will. It's just grown from looking for one person to looking for eleven, which should make it simpler. A group stands out more than an individual," Doctor Director pointed out. She really did want to figure out what happened to her agents and Kim. It was like the woods of Romania were swallowing people whole.

-8-8-8-8-

Shego grabbed Drakken to make their getaway. They hopped in a jet and flew away as the lair exploded. Global Justice had thwarted Drakken's scheme to break California from the rest of the continent. He had been planning to rule it as an island nation with the notion of calling Drakafornia. _Yeah, he needs to work on his naming_.

Drakken was moping about his precious lair being destroyed and his "brilliant" plan being put to an end for the umpteenth time while Shego wondered why Kim Possible had not shown up. Global Justice almost never interfered with Drakken's nutty schemes, even if they were good ones. They usually just left the blue guy to Kim since she was the "Drakken expert." _So, why did Global Justice shown up … again?_

Shego decided to ignore that fact Kim did not show up, even though that was the third time that the little busybody had not made an appearance. She figured, _what do I care if Kim or GJ shut down Drakken's stupid plans?_ Either way, they were defeated again and running from the law.

She guessed that it came to mind because Global Justice showing up sort of threw off her game. She was used to Kim coming through, they would trade insults back and forth while fighting, and then Kim managed to win somehow. GJ agents did not like to swap insults when fighting and they did not seem to have senses of humor. Combat was not as fun when verbal tirades were not involved.

Fighting with several people instead of one was also something that threw Shego off. She could not focus on one opponent like she was used to. She could not give one person her full attention, which she supposed worked out since they did not go back and forth with her like Kim did. It just was not enjoyable. It seemed like work, which was actually not what she expected from her time with Drakken anymore.

Things were supposed to be fun when the hero showed up and she got to tangle with that person. It was supposed to be a good workout and an interesting exchange from someone who was almost her equal in a way. The only annoying part of her job was supposed to be when her boss started ranting or when he got all uppity about things.

Over the next few months, every time Drakken came up with some weird plan and it was foiled, Global Justice showed up. Kim never came around. Shego was getting more curious with every incident that lacked her redheaded rival. She was also getting more irked without the olive-eyed hero showing up, but she tried not to acknowledge that because her irritation did not make any sense to her. _Why the hell should it bother me if Kimmie shows up or not beyond the fact that I'm sick of beating up GJ agents who wouldn't know a good joke if it bit them on the ass?_

-8-8-8-8-

Adrian strolled down the stairs in his castle into the dungeon. He had a body in his arms. He walked over to Kim, who was bolted to the wall. He had her chained there because the feisty little redhead kept running away early on and disregarded the time of day when she tried to make these escapes. He thought that she was safer there. She would not be able to run out into the sun and burn to a crisp.

At first, he had chained her in a regular manacle around her arm that would allow her to walk around. It had a long chain on it and was attached to the floor. He was amused when he watched her trying to yank it up. He had then discovered her one night gnawing through her arm like a trapped coyote and that was when he changed her bonds by putting her on the wall. If she wanted to get out of those, she would have chew through her shoulder and she would have to have the neck of a snake to make it all the way through her shoulder, too.

"Hello, darling," Adrian cheerfully greeted Kim as he stood before her, daring to smile at her.

She refused to speak to him, which only amused him more. He liked having Kim around and she could see the delight dance in his cold eyes every time he looked at her. She was so defiant and strong willed. She was also slowly starving to death. She refused to feed. He was enjoying watching her fight the thirst.

"I've brought you dinner, my dear," he said and he held the body up to her mouth. She turned her head.

Kim knew that the victim was still alive. She could faintly hear the heartbeat, as she always could when Adrian brought her "food." She could smell the blood coming from the wounds that Adrian had already inflicted on the poor soul. Her nostrils flared slightly and her mouth actually watered. It smelled so good and she began trembling with desire and hunger. She leaned forward, her fangs growing as she longed to taste the delicious liquid flowing from that body. Adrian smirked, thinking he had her. Months of ignoring her hunger had finally gotten her.

Kim then reared back and practically roared in agony. Her mouth opened wide like a crocodile as she screamed. Her fangs shrank back as she closed her mouth and turned her head away from the body. She struggled briefly, as if trying to break away from the wall and flee the Hell that she was trapped in. She slumped in her bonds.

"Darling, you need to eat," Adrian gently chided her.

Kim shook her head. "I'm never going to eat. I'd rather die than drink human blood. I'd rather die than live as a monster like you!" her words were sharp, but low and hoarse.

Adrian chuckled; the laughter actually danced in his eyes. "You are just a darling creature with such strength and conviction. You have a great will and maybe virtue, by human standards anyway. I am so glad that I picked you, but I think it would be best for my entertainment at the least that you do not die of starvation just yet," he remarked as if he were making some great joke.

Kim glanced over as she noticed from the corner of her eye Adrian moving. He leaned down and bit into his victim's neck. He then turned to her and leaned down to her level. It appeared that he was going to kiss her, so she turned her head as far as she could. He grabbed her by her chin and forced her to turn to him. He did plant a deep kiss on her lips and also forced blood into her mouth.

She tried to scream and reject the liquid, but he would have none of that. She needed some nourishment if she was going to make it passed the phase that she was stuck in. He also suspected that tasting the blood would make her work through the phase quicker. He would like to see what she would be like as an accepting vampire rather than the reluctant one that she was now.

The girl could not believe how scrumptious the fluid was as it touched her tongue. She only tasted a little, but it was the sweetest thing that she had ever had. She could not think of any way to describe it. It did not compare to any food that she had ever eaten. It was the nectar of the gods, pure ambrosia. All other food seemed like bitter, dry ashes now. She could not even mask her pleasure, moaning as the blood eased down her throat.

He smiled to himself and he would see how long she would last now that she had tasted the only food that she craved. He rid himself of the body that he was holding; the victim was technically still alive, but would not live too long because he had drained the cattle, as he saw humans, of too much blood.

Kim just hung in the dark, windowless dungeon as Adrian left her with the discarded body. She did not know what to do and she really could not do anything. She was weak in every way possible from months of starvation. She did not know what day it was, what month it was, and sometimes she had hallucinations. Adrian got immense pleasure from watching her when she was delirious.

He learned a lot about the little redhead that he decided to keep for himself. And the more he learned, the happier that he was to have taken her. He had never met someone so interesting. He wondered how he could have lived for some many years and only now have run into one of these Possible creatures. In fact, when he was not watching Kim fight her new urges, he went to research Kim and her family. She came from such an intriguing line and he considered that maybe had he met one of them through out his life, he would not have had to rid himself of so many companions.

Adrian could only keep a companion for a couple of decades and that was if he was really trying. They always got so boring. He was not sure what he expected out of a companion, but he knew he did not want someone that obeyed everything he said or crawled at his feet like many did. Then there were those that let their new vampire status go to their heads. He felt that creatures that had only a few years ago had been nothing more than a meal did not have a right to act so high and mighty. And even if those two things did not happen, it was always something else that just turned him off to whomever he had thought would make a suitable companion.

He watched Kim as she went through the agony of hunger. She pulled at her bonds and made tight fists, cutting into her palms with her rather long and sharp nails. She growled in anger, throwing fits as her head thrashed about. She sometimes banged her head on the back wall, either from a fit or to forget the pain brought on by her famine. Her fangs remained long, aching to feel blood run over them now that she knew what it tasted like. But, in all of that, she never begged for a drink and she refused him whenever he offered to go out and bring her what she needed.

He only rarely brought in food. He did not need blood every night or even every week, but he did see her every night. He proposed, but she declined. He liked offering because he wanted to be there when she started pleading for blood. He wanted to see what she would go through before she finally accepted that the thirst ruled when she was hungry.

-8-8-8-8-

Shego escaped yet another exploding lair. Drakken had gotten away on his own, as far as she knew anyway. She was willing to bet that the bastard had left her when the second wave of GJ agents showed up. It seemed that they were serious about capturing Drakken now considering everything they both pulled during his latest plan. She had stolen a lot of different government documents and Drakken had wrecked a lot of different monuments. It seemed to piss a lot people off and they wanted their heads. Badly.

Shego went to one of her rarely used safe houses and then allowed a thought that had been bugging her for a long time now, over half a year in fact, to enter her mind. _Where the hell was Kim Possible in all of this crap?_ She had not seen hide nor hair of the scrappy little redhead in over six months now. GJ kept showing and making her job seem like work with every passing day. She was not even having fun anymore. She was actually getting sick and tired of it all.

Shego used to live the American dream, in her opinion anyway. She was doing a job that she loved; only she did not know that she loved it in part because she got to go back and forth with an irksome goody-goody like Kim. She thought that the stealing was the reason that she loved the job. After all, she loved the steal. But then again, she could do that one her own, so she guessed that would not explain why she stuck around Drakken.

It would seem that Kim coming around made her job fun. She certainly did not have any fun throwing GJ agents around, which she thought was odd. Beating people up should have been fun in and of itself, but it was not that at all. It was just … work.

Sometimes, it felt like she was just going through the motions with GJ. _Punch, kick, duck, grab Drakken as lair explodes_. It was practically boring. She hated to think it, but she missed Kim. She wondered what happened to that kid and she decided to find out.

First, she went to Kim's house. She sneaked into the girl's room and looked around. Kim was not home, which she thought was odd since it was past midnight. She thought that maybe the girl was out doing the save the world thing. It was not like it was midnight all over the world, so it was quite possible that she was out beating some natural disaster or some nutty super villain. But, she had not heard anything about Kim saving the world in the past six months, so she did not think that excuse was highly likely anymore, unless Kim had gone underground.

She then thought maybe she could check the girl's website and see what Kim had been up to the past few months. She wondered what was so important that Kim had not been able to stop Drakken. She thought that Kim always made time to crush Drakken's dreams, but it seemed that GJ had taken that role and, really, they were just looking to crush Drakken literally now.

She had never been to Kim's website. It never occurred to any villain it seemed to check out the super-girl's site, if only to figure out what she was up to and try to plan accordingly. As soon as she logged onto the site, she did not see anything strange. She clicked onto a title to see Kim's missions list and found out that the last time Kim had done a mission was eight months ago, which was the last time that Shego had seen the redhead.

The pale woman was confused. _Why the hell has the girl-wonder stopped doing her precious missions?_ _Little Miss Perfect seemed to enjoy raining on everyone else's parade and ruining everyone's fun, so why isn't she doing it anymore?_ Shego decided to look around the site, hoping to find and explanation as to why the teen was not showing up anymore. It did not take long for her to find a big clue.

There was an emergency post that read: Kim Possible is currently missing. We would accept the help and support of any and everyone willing to offer in locating her. She was last seen in Romania, but could plausibly be anywhere in the world by now. If you have any information about Kim please contact the site master or call any law enforcement agency.

Shego was stunned. Kim was not just M.I.A, but she was actually missing? She wondered what happened to the kid and why it was not posted all over the news. _Probably don't want to cause a panic_ _or something, _she thought while scratching her head. _Has Kimmie actually been missing for the eight months that I haven't seen her?_ Well, that would explain why GJ was covering for her. But, it did beg the question of what happened to Kim.

The villainess searched the site, but she did not find out anything beyond Kim was missing. She already knew what her next move was. She would get the story from Kim's pet buffoon.

She wasted no time creeping into Ron's house. The blonde was still sleeping considering the fact that it was now three in the morning. Shego did not care what he was doing. She grabbed him, which woke him up. She pushed him into his pillow and covered his mouth to make sure he could not scream when he noticed who it was looming over him.

"Listen careful, idiot, I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to know what happened to your little girlfriend," Shego informed the boy. "Nod if you understand and won't scream when I move my hand."

Ron nodded to show that he understood. Shego moved her hand only millimeters from his mouth, in case he went back on his word. She also silently reminded him about the things that she could do by momentarily flaring her plasma. Ron gulped.

"Now, tell me what happened to Kimmie," Shego demanded in a whisper.

"She got kidnapped by a vampire," he answered with a tense frown.

"Kidnapped by a vampire? Are you really this stupid, boy, or are you screwing with me?" she inquired, turning her mouth up.

Typically warm brown eyes glared at Shego with something akin to hatred. She shivered a bit from the look. "I'm sick of everybody treating me like a moron when I say that. I'm telling you, she got kidnapped by a vampire. We were in the woods and hunting for clues on missing people that the locals told us were taken by a vampire when this guy just showed up out of nowhere. I'm talking rose up out of the shadows, like it was a movie. He took K.P and said he was keeping her. I haven't seen her since. GJ has been looking for her, but little by little I can tell they're giving up. They think she's dead along with twelve agents they sent to look for her and they think I'm nuts because I keep telling them a vampire took Kim. They won't even let me go look anymore," Ron reported with another frown. He held his head in his hands and shook his head briefly.

"You expect me to believe a vampire took little Miss Perfect?" the villainess inquired with a scoff. _Does it say "stupid" on my forehead or something?_

"I'm telling you that's what happened!" Ron hollered. "I'm sick of people not believing me! Why would I lie when my best friend in the whole damned world is in trouble? I want her back just as badly as anyone else, but everyone just thinks I'm nuts!"

"Okay, okay, calm down, boy," Shego ordered, pointing to him. Her tone seemed to help settle him as he looked away in disgust for a moment.

"He took her. I couldn't save her. He just took her and said he was keeping her," Ron informed her in a frantic tone, moving as if to get up, but Shego's weight prevented him from doing that.

Shego frowned. No one was keeping _her_ Princess. Kim made her life fun and she was going to get that girl back no matter what. She was done with just acting like she did not care while fighting GJ agents or something like that. She wanted the spark back in her lifestyle. She wanted everything to go back to how it was supposed to be.

"Okay, where was the last place you saw her?" Shego demanded. Again, her tone caught the blond and snapped him out his freak out.

"Why?" Ron asked, squinting in the dark as if to read the villainess better.

"None of your damn business. Just tell me, now," she growled.

"But … what if she's dead …" he whispered and he had to swallow a huge lump in his throat.

"Don't worry about that, just tell me where you last saw her," Shego commanded. She would bring Kim back, even if the redhead were only a corpse. At least it would solve some of the mystery as to what happened to the girl.

"You're going to find her? Take me with you. GJ stopped taking me a few months back, but I want to look for K.P, too," he insisted.

"I don't care what you want. Just tell me. I'm not taking you with me. I'm not like Kimmie. I don't need dead weight hanging around me all the time," Shego replied.

"I'm not dead weight," he argued with a heated glare.

"You didn't seem to be any help when a fucker was kidnapping your girlfriend. You don't seem to be any help in finding her, either. So, just tell me where you last saw her and leave the rest to me. Maybe if we're lucky, she's still alive after eight months," the pale woman countered in a hiss.

Ron decided not to argue because Shego was probably his last hope. Even if Kim was dead, Shego might at least be able to find her body. Then they would have some answers and there would also have something to bury. Kim deserved at least that much.

-8-8-8-8-

Kim was slumped in her chains. Her whole demeanor was frail. Her limbs were thin and wrinkled. She was panting and her teeth seemed to hang out of her jaw, as if they were going to fall out at any moment. Her fangs – dry as ever. Her tongue was hanging limply out her mouth, just as dry as her fangs. God, she was hungry!

It was becoming such a struggle to resist the vampire lord when he brought her prey. Her head seemed to automatically lean toward any food that he came in with and she was starting to see victims more as food than people. The ruby liquid that coursed through the meals screamed to her and she knew how sweet it was thanks to Adrian. Occasionally, he did make sure that she got some blood in her system; he seemed to enjoy feeding her since it gave him an excuse to kiss her. She did not fight him anymore; she could not fight him anymore.

"My darling, I bring you a gift," Adrian announced as he entered the dungeon. He was actually amazed that she was still fighting the thirst. He was also amazed that it was still entertaining.

Kim lifted her head as high as she could to see what Adrian had for her. Sometimes, he brought her odd things like jewelry. Or he would tease her and bring her a goat or something like that to taste animal blood. It was not because he was trying to keep her alive for the most part, but because he was still trying to get her to give in. He wanted her to see that livestock blood was nothing compared to human blood. The more livestock blood that she had, the more she would crave delicious human blood.

Kim balked when she saw the "gift" Adrian had for her. He was holding the hand of a little girl, who could not be anymore than four years old and looked so cute holding a weak, little flash light to see in the dark dungeon. The redhead turned her attention to the vampire lord and glared at him as if she were at the top of her strength. The monster brought her a child to feed on. _I will kill him!_

"Isn't she adorable? She was just sitting on the front steps of her house and I asked her to come with me," Adrian explained as if it was nothing. He caressed the child's cheek.

"You monster! Let her go!" Kim hollered and she tugged at her bonds, trying to get free from the wall.

"Oh, but she came all this way to play with you, darling," Adrian commented.

"If you hurt her, I swear I'll make you regret it!" the redhead snarled as she continued pulling at her chains. She was only succeeding in tearing into her wrists.

Adrian laughed a bit. She was indeed an interesting creature. He thought that by now Kim would have been gnawing at her arm to take the little girl. He had brought the child because her blood did have an exceptional smell to it. He thought that it would be enough to bait Kim, but she was still stuck in her human virtue. He wondered when she was just going to accept that she was not human anymore.

"I'll leave her here for a moment or so and see if you change your mind," Adrian commented with a cruel smile.

The vampire told the child to just stay there for a while and then he promised that he would take her back home. The child accepted that; she really wanted to go back home now. She had only come with Adrian because he told her that he had a sick friend that he was certain the child could cheer up. She had not expected the sick friend to be in a very dark room and chained to the wall. Adrian then left Kim with the little girl.

Kim could smell the same scent that caught Adrian's attention coming from the child. She fell limp in her chains and started crying. It was such a heavenly aroma and her mouth moved in the direction it was coming from of their own accord, taking her head along for the ride. She just wanted one little drink and that only made her weep more. She was not a monster, but she was so hungry.

"You don't look so well, Miss," the child commented in a very small, cute voice. She sounded her age and it made Kim tremble on the inside.

"Run," Kim begged the girl.

"He said you're sick. I know a way to make you better is to eat soup," the girl informed Kim with an impish smile.

Kim continued to cry while she screamed at the child to run. The girl eventually got frightened of the fragile-looking redhead that was hollering at her and she took off in search of Adrian to tell him that he his friend was not being nice. Kim hoped that Adrian did not hurt that girl. She would kill him if he did.

Adrian returned later on that night and stood before Kim again. He saw evidence of her crying; the tears had stained her face. He figured that she was crying because the hunger was ripping her apart inside. He reached out and caressed her cheek since she was too weak to stop him from doing so.

"You need to eat, my dear," he urged her in a soft, gentle tone. _He's such a liar_, she thought when he used that voice. He tried to sound like he cared when she knew that he did not care about anything, except for himself.

"The girl?" Kim inquired in a weak voice. It was the best she could muster in her current state.

"Is asleep in her bed. I think I'll save her for you. When you finally accept what you are, you can have her first," he replied.

"I won't," she vowed. _I'm not a monster!_

"You will," he growled. "You're a vampire now and you will eat," he informed her in a forceful tone. He went so far as to put his finger in her face.

It was not the first time that he seemed frustrated with her. Usually, he was so entertained, but every now and then, he would get irked with her for some reason. As amusing as it was to watch her suffer and fight the urge, he wanted her to move passed that stage. She needed to accept what she was and he could get an idea of how long he would end up keeping her around.

Kim shook her head. She refused to believe that she was a vampire. She refused to believe that she was a monster like him. She was Kim Possible, she reminded herself. She had lost track of most of the other things in her life. She was no longer sure how old she was or if she had a family or friends or even if she used to have a life outside of the damp dungeon Adrian kept her in. But, she knew that she was Kim Possible and that meant something. It told her to be strong and resist. She had to stay true to her principles, even though she was rapidly forgetting what those were. Above all things, she knew that she was not a monster.

She still had her delusions, but she could not even remember who some of the people were that showed up in them. She would talk to the illusions and ask who they were, but they typically could not provide her with that information. She might not be able to remember them, but she knew better than to listen to Adrian.

"Darling, you do need to eat or eventually you're going to die," he pointed out in a calm, civil tone. He figured that since she was still trying to act like she was human, her human survival instincts would kick in if death were brought up. She would then eat when she figured out that she needed the blood to go on.

"So be it," she replied. She would rather die than live as a monster that took the lives of children to sustain her own vile existence.

"I won't let you," he vowed. He wanted her company and he would have it, whether she liked it or not. "You're mine until I'm ready to let you go, darling."

Kim shook her head to disagree. She was not going to stay with him. She was going to get away. She refused to be a monster. _I am not a monster!_

-8-8-8-8-

Shego landed in the woods that Stoppable swore was the last place that he saw Kim. It was the last afternoon. She did not see any signs of any kind indicating that Team Possible had been there, but she did not expect any since Kim had been missing for eight months. She could not believe what she was doing, namely looking for Kim Possible.

She had always wondered what life would be like without the little hero around. She thought that she would run wild and fancy-free. She would steal anything she wanted or anything that Drakken was paying her for. It would be like the greatest free-for-all, stealing spree ever, but no.

She did not even feel like stealing anything. She did not feel like fighting anyone. She did not even know where the hell Drakken was after they escaped GJ that last time. She just wanted to know what happened to the petite killjoy. It seemed like she needed Kim around for anything to be fun because Kim was the one that made it all challenging. It was fun to have a single rival rather than a whole freaking organization bent on her destruction. All in all, she missed Kim.

She was aware that it had to seem sick in the head for her to miss someone that only last year kicked her off of a building into an electric tower, but she did. She missed the teasing and the taunting and the one-on-one combat. Kim had faults like everyone else, but she supposed that she accepted Kim's faults and the fact that the kid had gone wild on her over a plan that she did not even have much input on. She just wanted Kim back and for everything to go back to normal, so she hoped that the girl was still alive.

Shego scanned around the forest for a while and guessed that no one had been in it for a while. She thought that was odd since GJ was supposed to be looking for Kim and their missing agents, but it would seem that they had just decided on the lot of them being dead. Shego would only believe that when she saw a body or at least a skeleton and then the skeleton would have to tell her that it belonged to Kim.

She eventually turned her attention to the castle off in the distance. It was the castle that Stoppable claimed a vampire lived in. She supposed that it was as good a place as any to start looking, especially since according to the GJ file that she stole, the castle was the last place that they knew their missing agents to be. They thought that something was up with the castle, but they could not figure it out since some agents went in and came out, declaring that it was just an old stronghold like any other castle while other agents just vanished. It would seem that GJ did not know what to make of the castle and were backing off until they could figure out how the castle figured into the missing people.

She took off in the direction of the castle without thinking twice about any danger that might lurk in there. Hiking up the high hill that the castle was on was a serious and dangerous trip because it was a steep, rocky hill, but she did not care about that. She just wanted her Princess back. She would get her good girl back and then go back to being a bad girl and everything could go back to normal.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Shego goes to save the day.


	3. Unearthed

I don't own these characters, except for Adrian. Once again, I also don't own Dracula.

3: Unearthed

Kim was panting. She was exhausted. She wanted to get away from Adrian, but it was tiring to try. She was not giving up, though. She was taking a little break. She then noticed a light by the door of the dungeon and she instinctively shrank back. She realized that she was scared of the light.

She had rarely seen light in the castle, not natural or artificial light. Adrian had the windows all shaded as far as she remembered, but she did not trust her memory too much anymore. He did not seem to need light to get around and now that she thought about, she did not need light either. The dungeon was pretty much pitch-black most of the time. Adrian allowed a flashlight when he brought the little girl down to her to taunt her, but that light had not scared her. There was something about the new light that caused a tremble to run through her.

Kim wondered what brought the ominous light into the castle. She listened carefully and could make out footsteps and also a heartbeat. The heartbeat sounded so much louder than the footsteps. It was such a tempting sound. _Come_, her hungry mind begged. _Come so that I might feed on whoever that is out there_.

As the footsteps got closer, Kim began to lean forward, even though the light was in that direction. Her hunger topped her fear by far. She was going mad from lack of food and she was now almost certain that she could and would feed as long as the person was not a child. _I will devour you, whoever you are_.

"Ah, dammit," a voice grumbled from outside the door of the dungeon.

The voice seemed familiar to Kim, but she could not place it and she really did not care. She just wanted whoever that was to come down into the dungeon and give her all of their blood. If she ate, maybe she would be strong enough to break her bonds, and then she could get away from Adrian without mutilating herself.

The door to the dungeon opened and the light came in along with the person. Kim turned away again while the person complained about the smell. There was something about that light that really bothered her, as if it could hurt her, she realized. _It feels like a predator stalking me, which I guess is a little ironic considering what_ he _turned me into_. She closed her eyes as the light got closer and she could feel a burning sensation on her skin.

"Princess?" Shego called. The light was coming from her hands. She could not believe how dark the castle was, even with the sun still somewhat out when she finally made it to the entrance of the place.

Kim turned to see who had entered. The voice seemed so familiar and the nickname sounded that way too, but she could not place them. She turned to see Shego and squinted as if she did not recognize the pale woman.

"Oh, god, Princess, you look like hell. I guess it's good that you're alive, though," Shego commented with a smirk like she was teasing Kim.

The villainess did mean it, though. Kim looked like hell, mostly because the girl had been trying to chew through her shoulder as much as she could with idea that she could then yank her arm off and free herself from the wall. She had not thought the plan through much. She did not have enough strength to devote to deep thinking it would seem.

Then there was the fact that the redhead looked extremely thin and wane. Her new teeth were something that Shego took note of, too. _Could that crazy kid Stoppable be right about the vampire?_ Because the teeth that Kim was sporting appeared suspicious. The strange look in her eyes also supported Stoppable's nutty story. Suddenly, olive eyes blinked and the look was gone replaced by some form of understanding.

"I know you," Kim realized as she stared at Shego as best she could considering the fact that Shego was still using her powers as a flashlight. The light was frightening on some level that Kim could not comprehend.

"Of course you know me, Kimmie," Shego replied with an eye roll. It had only been eight months, after all. It was not like it was like eight years and the thief liked to think that she was rather unforgettable.

"Could you turn out the light, please?" Kim requested rather politely.

"Huh? Oh, sure." The villainess powered down her hands as much as she could without shrouding herself in darkness. "Princess, what the hell is going on?" Shego inquired, accidentally sounded more concerned than she even knew.

"Shego?" Kim asked in a puzzled tone. That was who the green-skinned woman was, Kim realized. Her name was Shego. _Is she real or am I having another hallucination?_

"Yeah, it's me, Princess. Relax. I'm going to get you out of here," Shego tried to assure her.

The plasma-wielding woman inspected the chains that were holding Kim to the wall and easily cut the through them with her claws. Kim winced, thinking that her hand was going to follow the manacle to the floor. Shego then went to the other arm and freed it.

Kim fell to the floor in a heap. Shego kneeled down to help the girl up. Kim then did something surprising; she embraced Shego. The image was solid, Kim thought. Shego was real. She was not some figment of her imagination; Shego was real. So, Kim held the solid person tightly, thankful for someone that she somewhat recognized and that the person was not Adrian.

"It's okay, Kimmie," Shego replied while returning the embrace to assure Kim that everything was all right. She turned her powers completely off to make sure that she did not injure the frail teen at all.

Shego felt several emotions all at once that she not expecting as she held onto the shaking redhead. She felt relief now that she knew what happened with Kim and she could see that the girl was alive. She felt pity that Kim had been held captive for more than likely the eight months that she was gone. She also felt anger that someone would actually keep her Kimmie locked down. She was really furious that someone would hurt the teen hero and keep Kim from her.

Kim was happy and grateful for Shego's arrival. And then that scent hit her nose. It smelled so good, better than any other blood that she caught a whiff of and it was right there. All she had to do was lean down and take a bite. A stream of beautiful blood was one bite away and she began leaning down for that one bite.

"Ah!" Kim screamed as she realized what she was about to do.

The frail hero pushed out of Shego's arms and crawled away from the pale woman. She looked extremely panicked, trembling and panting again with her mouth wide open and those fangs of hers on display. She had almost bitten Shego; the only person that could link her with the life that she had once had, the life that she quickly forgetting.

There was also something frightening about biting Shego, even though she was so hungry. She knew that she would be giving up her fight if she bit Shego. She could hardly remember what her fight was about. It had something to do with her not being a monster, but that was about all she could remember. Her mind was moving a mile-a-minute to tell her that she would thoroughly regret biting Shego, though.

"Princess," Shego called while putting her glow back up for her to see what was going on.

"Stay away from me!" Kim warned the villainess as she crawled away, even further. She looked around the cell and noticed the stairs. She could get out and get far away from Shego and Adrian. So, she made her move toward the stairs, toward a freedom of some kind.

"Kim," Shego called again.

"Stay away from me! I'm a monster! I'm a monster!" the thin teen insisted.

"You're not a monster and you know that. You're a hero. You're a hero that's just tired and ready to get the hell out of here," the thief tried to assure her rival, but the girl did not answer.

The redhead was not trying to hear anything. She was a monster. She just wanted to get as far away as she possibly could before she did something that she regretted. She had been so close to killing Shego just then. She could not completely recall who Shego was to her, but she knew that she did not want the woman to be a meal.

"Where are you going, my dear?" Adrian inquired as he appeared right in front of Kim.

Kim snarled at him, like an outraged lion, complete with a mouthful of dangerous teeth. He was not sure if he was amused or insulted that the gnat of a girl was looking at him so contemptuously. He could crush her with a wave of his hand if he decided and yet she dared look at him with such an intense look of disdain in her eyes, eyes that he had given her. He had made her and she dared look at her creator in such a vile manner. He supposed that he could be amused because she did not know any better. She was like any new pet and needed to learn her place.

"Darling, you really shouldn't be moving around like that in your condition," he commented with a gentle smile on his face.

"Hey, who the hell are you?" Shego demanded when she caught sight of Adrian in the dark. It was hard to make him out, but she could vaguely make out his profile and she could hear him clearly.

"Oh, dearest, do we have a guest?" Adrian asked, even though he knew the answer to that.

"Shego, run!" Kim screamed at the thief.

"I'm not going anywhere without you, Princess," Shego answered. Like hell she was going to abandon the person that she came to save, especially considering the fact that Kim was alive. All of her work would not be for naught and, besides, she always got what she wanted. She wanted her Princess.

"Oh, you must be the knight in shining armor if she's the princess," Adrian commented with a smirk.

"Shego, just run," Kim pled and she began to pick herself up completely to stand with strength that she did not even possess. She planned to attack Adrian to keep him from attacking Shego. She hoped that Shego would be able to get away before Adrian decided to add her to pile of bodies that were rotting in the corner of the dungeon, which was causing the stench that Shego complained about. They were there to bother Kim, but she had ceased to notice them months ago.

"I don't run," Shego replied in a hard tone.

"Good to know. Since my darling seems to know you, perhaps we'll make you her first real meal," Adrian announced as he slowly descended the stairs.

"Leave her alone!" Kim roared and she launched herself at Adrian.

The vampire lord put his hand out and Kim stopped in mind air. "Calm down, dearest. If you get worked up in such a state, who knows what could happen. I could get angry with you, after all."

"Put her down," Shego ordered as she marched toward to pair of vampires.

"Well, my darling, your dinner wants my attention. Let me gather your meal," Adrian said calmly.

"Don't hurt her!" Kim ordered him.

Adrian snorted and he waved his hand, which sent Kim flying back into the back of the cell. Kim grunted on hard impact with the wall and fell to the floor, too weak to move now. She coughed into the dusty floor, trying to at least lift her head to see what Adrian was about to do with Shego.

Adrian turned his complete attention to Shego. He thought that it would be good for Kim to feed on someone that she used to know. It would help sever her ties to the world that she used to know. She needed to be aware that she was in his world now.

"Miss, I don't know who sent you or what you're doing here, but you showed up at a good time," Adrian said.

"Sir, I don't know who you are or what you think you're doing, but you showed up at a bad time," Shego replied with a smirk.

"You should be running."

"Nah, you should be running," she said while holding up one hand.

"Your little friend there, she's going to drink you almost dry. She might even chew through some of your flesh considering how long she's been hungry. Who knows what she might do to your body," Adrian commented. "Let's feed your princess."

Adrian sank into the shadows, planning to sneak up on her. Shego was as alert as she ever would be in a battle, waiting for Adrian to show up. He came up behind her and was totally surprised as she turned to strike him, not only with a claw move, but a flaming claw move. He backed away as Shego's hands illuminated with her plasma. He hissed and his eyes flashed with anger and something else.

"What manner of creature is she?" the vampire wondered, mumbling under his breath, as he watched her make fire with her hands. He had never come across such a being before.

"Come on, Dracula," Shego urged him while turning up the plasma. She could see the fear in his heated gaze. He was frightened of her power.

Kim curled up in the corner as Shego lit up the whole room with her powers. Adrian disappeared, trying to shield himself from the powerful light. _Who the hell is she_, he wondered. He had never come across a creature that could create a light that weakened him something like the sun.

_I'll have to take care of this woman quickly_, Adrian silently decided as he reappeared behind the fire-starter.

The vampire lord was about to use his telekinetic powers against Shego, but as he moved his hand in her direction, Shego threw a plasma sphere at him. He hissed in anger as the blast came very close to burning his face off. It would seem that she was dangerous and serious.

"You see this," Shego said as she held up her hands, which were flaming all-force. It danced as if she was holding two green bon fires in her palms. "Pretty much like having a star in my pocket," she commented.

"To hell with you, girl," Adrian replied as he snapped his finger and showed that he could create flames all his own. A firewall sprang up right in front of the pale woman.

"Pathetic," Shego insulted him as she sliced through his fire attack and came at him with her plasma-charged claws.

Adrian fell back, so Shego missed him with her slash move. Adrian's face showed absolute disbelief as she had come so close again to destroying him. He had lived on for nearly a millennium, so he was not about to allow his life to be snuffed out by one woman that had come after a stubborn girl that did not want to accept that she was now a vampire. No way that they would be his undoing.

"Foolish woman," the vampire lord snarled.

"You take my Princess and call me a fool? Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black to me," Shego replied as she continued on the offensive, not giving Adrian a chance to use his magic. Her plasma stayed at full-force_. I'll get this bastard eventually and show him what an asshole he is for what he did_, she believed.

Kim remained in the corner, still frightened of the burning, intense light. But, she noticed that Shego was fighting Adrian and if Shego won, they would both get to leave the castle. _The vampire cannot win_, Kim told herself. If Adrian won, not only would she probably be put back on the wall, Shego would be drained and, worse yet, she might be the one drinking from Shego … especially considering how good her blood smelled.

The redhead gathered up the courage that she knew that she was supposed to have. She crawled over to the battle, still too weak to lift herself up. And then she grabbed Adrian around his legs to stop him dodging Shego's attack.

"What the?" Adrian looked down to see that troublesome little redhead was actually acting against him. He growled in fury.

"You shouldn't be looking at her!" Shego informed him and her plasma-fueled hands finally contacted his body.

The pale woman slashed through Adrian's chest thanks to her powers and her claws. He hollered in sheer agony as the plasma burned right through him and quickly spread through out his torso. Shego was not even looking to take any chances, so as Adrian's chest began to turn to ash, she went for his neck. She shoved her flaming fingertips right into his throat and set his head ablaze. As Adrian began to burn, Kim started to move away.

Shego noticed Kim trying to retreat, but having trouble. She acted without thinking and she bent down and picked the girl up, making sure to power her hands completely down. She moved to the far end of the cell and held Kim tightly to her chest, shielding Kim from the sight as Adrian dropped to the floor.

The vampire's body turned to ash moments after it hit the floor. The head actually separated from the body and they disintegrated a couple of inches apart. Some flames continued to dance on the pile of dust that was once Adrian. Shego turned back to see what was happening as she noted how dark the room had gotten.

"Is it over?" Kim asked, trembling against the body looking to protect her.

"I think so. Let me go see," Shego answered and she pulled away from the nervous redhead.

The villainess brought up her glow slightly, just enough to make her way around the room. She inspected the ashes of the body and then of the head. The head was still a bit round, so she stepped on it to scatter the ashes. She doubted that he was making a comeback, but just in case, she kicked around the rest of the ashes. She also went into her leg pouch and pulled out some water that she was carrying. She poured the water on the ashes to further spread them apart.

"I don't think he's getting up for round two. Let's get out of here," Shego said while turning to Kim and offering her hand, which was still lit.

"The light," Kim complained and turned away.

"Oh, sorry about that," Shego actually apologized and dismissed her plasma. "So, ready to go?"

Kim thought about it and asked herself just where did she think that she was going to go. She was a monster now. She could not be trusted outside or around people. So, she shook her head to answer Shego's question.

"What do you mean 'no'? Come on," Shego urged the girl.

"I can't," the redhead answered in a hoarse tone.

"Why not?" Shego asked.

"Because I'm a monster," Kim answered and she began sniffling. She was going to cry. She did not want to be a monster. She just wanted to be the person that she used to be, even though she could not remember who that person was. She just knew it was better than being a monster.

"Princess," Shego sighed.

Kim turned her back to Shego and pulled her legs to her chest. The green-skinned woman sighed again. She did not think that it was right that she had taken time out of her life to rescue the kid and now the girl was refusing to go. It should have upset her, but it did not. It hurt her to see the girl curled up in a little ball, convinced that she was a monster because of what some bastard did to her.

The villainess walked over to Kim and she embraced the redhead, remembering how happy Kim seemed to be when she first recognized Shego and her first impulse seemed to be go in for a hug. She hoped that it brought Kim some comfort. She knew how it was to suddenly be changed and to think that she was a monster.

"You're not a monster, Kimmie. You're just different. Being different doesn't make you a monster. It's not your fault," Shego promised in a low, surprisingly compassionate tone.

"But, I am," Kim insisted. "I want to eat people for crying out loud. I have to be a monster!"

"You're not a monster. Being different doesn't make you a monster. Actions make people monsters. People that purposely inflict unspeakable pain and suffering on others are monsters and you don't do that. What you are doesn't make you a monster. A lion isn't a monster because it eats a zebra. You're not a monster. You aren't," Shego insisted with conviction.

Kim did not say anything. She almost felt like she believed Shego's words because they seemed to come from the green-skinned woman's heart. So, she stopped muttering that she was a monster, but she did not give up the hug. Shego took it as a good sign when Kim went silent.

"Now, are you ready to go?" the thief asked.

"Where?" Kim asked. She had never thought of where she would go when she finally could leave the dungeon.

"Well … I don't know actually. I guess to GJ. They pretty much think you're dead and they're probably the only ones that can help you," Shego answered.

The pale woman had not expected Kim to be a vampire when she found the girl. She thought that she would be able to return Kim to her parents after finding her and then everything could go back to normal. Obviously, it would be a long time before anything would ever be normal again.

"GJ?" Kim echoed in a puzzled tone. It sounded familiar, but she could not quite place it yet.

"Yeah, GJ. Unless, you've got some other place you'd like to go," Shego replied.

Kim shook her head, which Shego could make out vaguely, but she mostly felt it because the redhead was still in her arms. Kim did not know any place to go. She could barely remember anything at the moment.

"You'll come too, right?" the redhead asked in a hopeful tone. She would feel better about everything as long as Shego was with her for some reason that she did not care to think about. She did not have the energy to spare to think about it, anyway.

"Yeah, I guess," Shego answered. She could not abandon the kid now, especially since Kim seemed so disoriented and thought that she was a monster. She wondered what horrors Kim had gone through over the eight months that she had been missing for her to seem so forgetful.

Shego was going to dread going to GJ HQ. It meant her certain arrest considering she was running from them for a whole heap of crimes. Still, she could not let Kim go it alone. So, they were off to GJ, taking the plane that Shego had flown in.

-8-8-8-8-

Shego walked into the office of Doctor Director. The head of GJ was sitting at her large desk and she motioned for Shego to take a seat. The pale woman complied considering the wild day that she had just had. She could use a moment or two to just slow down and take a load off, even if she was in enemy territory. She could not believe that GJ had not placed her under arrest yet.

"So, I hear you found Miss Possible," Doctor Director said in a businesslike tone.

"Yeah, if you want to call it that. She was right where the blonde buffoon said she'd be and she was actually with just who he said she's be with," Shego replied.

Doctor Director arched an eyebrow. "Really? Did you find my other agents too?"

"Yeah, they were all sitting in a pile in the cell Kim was in, playing rat food it would seem. I'm guessing he ate them," the thief answered.

"So, how was it you were able to stop this … vampire?" Doctor Director inquired. She was hesitant to use the word "vampire" because she only had Shego's word to go by.

The main reason way all Doctor Director had was Shego's word was because when Shego came in with Kim, the sun was up. Kim had hidden underneath a blanket that was in the jet when the light came shinning in and by the time they landed, the girl was sleeping, like any vampire would be when the sun came up. The villainess gathered the kid up, making sure to completely cover her with the blanket, before she exited the plane. Shego told the GJ agents that came to "greet" her that Kim needed to be placed in a windowless room or they would all regret it, Kim especially. They seemed to take her word on it and then they showed her to Doctor Director's office, so at the moment, she was on her own.

"Now, how did you manage to single-handedly take down an enemy that you claimed killed a dozen of my agents and kidnapped Kim Possible?" Doctor Director added to her question.

"I'm a natural vampire slayer it seems," Shego replied while holding up a glowing hand.

"All right, if what you say is say true, why didn't he kill Miss Possible?"

"Because he turned her into a vampire, doy."

"Why only her? Why not the others?"

"Do I look like I know? I wasn't there and I'm not some crazy vampire. I didn't even catch the guy's name, so I damn sure missed his m.o. and I didn't see a diary lying around to fill us in. You need to just ask Kimmie when she wakes up, which shouldn't be too much longer since the sun should be going down soon. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you all around," Shego said as she tried to get up.

"Not so fast. Let's both go and see Miss Possible," Doctor Director suggested with a stern glint in her eye.

Shego sighed, but she did not argue. She had been hoping to get away before they got around to arresting her. She had hoped thanks to her good deed of retrieving the great Kim Possible, they would let her slide, but it would seem that Doctor Director was only prolonging things.

The pair strolled to where Kim was being held and they were informed that the redhead was awake. It would seem that she woke up as soon as Shego had left. She was fidgety in the room, but they were not sure what to do. She did not even seem to know where she was, even though she had been to GJ HQ many times. Doctor Director figured that she would assess the situation and debrief Miss Possible.

"Shego, as of this moment—" Doctor Director started to say, but Shego cut her off.

"Yeah, I'm under arrest," the pale woman grumbled, waving the law enforcer off.

"Indeed you are," Doctor Director replied as a pair of GJ agents seemed to come out of nowhere.

Shego frowned and sighed; she saw that one coming. While Doctor Director entered the room that Kim was being kept in, Shego was placed in handcuffs. It was going to be the last time that she ever came to Global Justice if she needed help, that was for damn sure. Maybe it would be the last time that she stuck her neck out for someone else too; all right, she knew that was not true. If Kim needed help again, she would probably be right there, doing what no one else could it would or could seem.

The leader of Global Justice was surprised when she caught sight of Kim. The girl was hiding under the cover that she had been using when Shego brought her in. The room was too bright for her, so she was hoping to shield her sensitive eyes from it. Other than that odd sight, from what Doctor Director could tell, Kim was much paler than she used to be. She was close to chalk white now.

"Miss Possible," Doctor Director called attention to herself.

Kim's head snapped in the direction of the familiar voice. She squinted to look at the woman and Doctor Director noted the look of puzzlement that Kim was giving her. It was like the girl did not know who she was, but also something more. Kim seemed to be frightened of something; the something that she was scared was that she was going to launch herself off of the cot that she was curled up on and sink her fangs into that woman's neck. Betty sort of picked that up a little because the other thing in Kim's eyes was the look of a predator sizing up her prey.

"Where's Shego?" Kim asked curiously and rapidly. She wanted Shego back. She knew Shego and Shego had rescued her. Shego comforted her, saved her, assured her that she was not a monster, and promised not to abandon her when they were on their way away from the castle. _So, where is Shego?_

"Kim, do you know who I am?" Doctor Director inquired, ignoring Kim's question entirely.

"No," Kim answered quickly and went right back to what she wanted to know. "Where's Shego?" she repeated in a now slightly trembling voice. Her body was starting to convulse so badly that she looked like she was going through withdrawal symptoms.

"Do you know where you are?"

"No. Where's Shego?" Kim's voice was now shaking just as much as she was. She was now scared that she was alone.

Doctor Director was picking up on a little bit of panic in Kim. The redhead was definitely trembling underneath her blanket and it was not cold in the room. She seemed nervous and frightened, like a trapped animal.

Kim did not know what was going on or where she was or anything at all. All she knew was that Shego was gone and some strange woman was asking her questions that she did not care about, both of which she did not like. Growling a little under her breath, she tried to get her shaking under control because now she was getting angry.

The brunette woman took a step closer to Kim. She thought that getting closer would set the redhead at ease, but as she came forward, Kim inched back. Doctor Director wondered what happened to the kid.

"Okay, Kim, do you know who you are?" the one-eyed woman inquired.

"I'm Kim Possible. Where's Shego?" Kim repeated the only question she wanted answered.

"Okay—" Doctor Director was swiftly cut off before she could form her mouth to utter another word.

Kim did not want to hear any more questions. "Where's Shego?" she demanded with a snarl. The panic in her voice was gone suddenly. She sounded forceful, as if she was the one in charge.

"You'll get to see Shego if that's what you want."

"I want her now then. Where's Shego?" Kim inquired with a growl. Something in her mind was telling her that she did not have to answer any of the puny human's questions. She should just go get what she wanted, but another part of her was telling her that she needed to respect the woman in front of her. It was just so hard to do when all she wanted was Shego, well, and maybe for the light to be turned down some.

"You'll see her later."

Kim shook her head and growled in a low, rumbling tone. She wanted to see Shego now! She raised a clawed hand as if she was going to use it against Doctor Director, but something in her mind told her to hold off. She shook her head more violently. She did not know what to do and she retreated further into the room because of her confusion. She did not know it, but she eventually ended up walking on the wall. Doctor Director's eye went wide and she was flabbergasted as to what she was seeing as she watched Kim retreat up the wall.

The new angle also gave Doctor Director a look at the teen hero. Kim was skeleton-thin underneath that blanket. Her clothing was tattered and filthy. There were maroon patches on her skin, possibly dried blood and also what looks like wounds.

The leader of Global Justice did not know what to make of the situation, but she thought that it might be best for her to bring Shego back. She got on her comm. unit and commanded the two agents that had been escorting Shego to the holdings cells turn around and that they were to bring Shego back to the room Kim was being held in immediately. The order was swiftly obeyed, as they usually were. Doctor Director met Shego outside the room.

"What happened? Being under arrest isn't as long as it used to be," Shego remarked with a laugh.

"She wants you for some reason. All she did was ask where you were the whole time I was in there. She seems panicked," Doctor Director informed the villainess.

"Yeah, being stuck in a cell with a crazy vampire and a pile of corpses for eight months will do that to a person," Shego commented dryly.

"But, why is she asking for you?" the one-eyed woman asked in confusion.

"Hell if I know. It's not like I'm her friend or anything."

"Yet you rescued her."

Shego shrugged. "Ah, I was bored."

Doctor Director scoffed. Now, while she did not know what Shego's motivation was for going out and doing what no one else could, she was certain that it was not because Shego was bored. She guessed that she was going to have to debrief Shego once she knew just what was going on and Kim was not so panicked when talking to her.

Shego entered the room where Kim was still on the wall. The redhead turned to Shego as soon as she came in. She practically flew at Shego to embrace her, but then as soon as she did, Kim started to smell Shego blood. _God, it smells so good_. She ached for the taste of that liquid. Just one drop, her body begged while her fangs moved to Shego's shoulder. Kim seemed to reconsider a second before she was going to bite down and she pushed Shego away roughly. It all happened in a split second, so to Shego, she was being hugged and then thrown away, which was upsetting.

"What the hell, Princess?" the villainess demanded as she crashed into the door.

"Get out! Go away now! As far as you can!" Kim ordered as she ran back to the corner of the room.

"Princess, what the hell is your deal? You can't keep calling for me and then pushing me away. So, really, what the hell?" Shego inquired. She was tired and Kim was not helping by acting psychotic.

"Just go away!"

"Not until you tell me what the hell is the problem."

"I'm hungry!" Kim blurted out in a roar. "That's the problem!"

"So, you're hungry," Shego said with a shrug. It did not explain why she was getting shoved into doors by a kid that obviously did not know her own strength anymore and then she realized what Kim meant. "Oh … so, you want blood?" she asked.

"God, yes," Kim answered and she began leaning toward Shego, teeth first. Then she suddenly slapped her hands over her mouth and turned her back to Shego. She hunched over in the corner with her forehead pressed against the wall and her hands clamped tightly over her mouth.

"Kimmie, when was the last time you had any blood?" Shego inquired. If Kim had been a vampire for the eight months that she had been missing, the thief was willing to bet that Kim had to drink some blood or she would have died a long time go. She guessed that was why Kim thought that she was a monster. She still disagreed with that notion since Kim could not help what she was or what she ate now, especially since the starved hero was obviously trying not to hurt anyone.

"I don't know," the redhead answered with tears gathering in her eyes. She was so hungry, but she did not want to feed, especially not on Shego.

"And you want my blood?"

"Yes! It smells so good," Kim answered before she could think. She then put her hands back over her mouth because of that answer. She did not want Shego to know that she wanted to drink her blood. She did not want to look at the thief and see dinner.

Shego was not sure how to respond to that. She did know that seeing Kim curled up in a corner, fighting not to drink her blood, struck a cord in her. She wanted the old Kim back, the one that she could trade insults with and fight to her heart's content. She wanted the Kim whose nerves she could get on and she guessed that if giving up some blood would get her close to that, she could part with a little.

"You won't drink it all, right?" Shego asked cautiously.

"Huh?" Kim turned to look at the green-skinned thief.

"I mean, how much did you need?"

"You mean, you're willing to let me drink your blood?" the girl asked in disbelief. It had never occurred to her that someone might give her permission to have some of the person's blood. That did seem so much better than taking it like some demon in the darkness.

"Well, enough to put some weight on you. You look like something out of a haunted house," Shego teased and it felt a bit good to do it. It would have felt better if it were not so true.

"You'd have to tell me when to stop …" Kim said. She really did not want to sate her thirst with Shego, but dammit, she was hungry and Shego's blood smelled so damn good. And the woman was offering.

"Don't worry, I'll signal by punching you in the head," Shego replied with a smirk.

"I'll bite you hard if you punch me," Kim retorted.

Shego laughed a bit, despite how awkward the conversation was. She walked over to the cot that Kim had been lying on and she sat down. Kim got up from the corner and sat down, too. They both looked away from each other.

"So … how should this go?" Kim asked.

"Here, bite the forearm, not the wrist," Shego said while presenting her arm.

"Why?"

"I tend to flare up instinctively if something hurts. You bite my wrist, you'll get burned in the face," the villainess explained.

"Ouch," Kim muttered. She guessed that she was biting the forearm.

Shego pulled her sleeve up and Kim leaned down. She did not warn Shego as she clamped down on her arm and Shego hissed in pain. Her hands did flare up just a little, but she quickly dosed the flame. Kim did not seem to notice the noise or the heat because she did not even look up. The teen moaned in delight as she drank Shego's blood.

"All right," Shego said while trying to yank her limb back. She was starting to feel a little lightheaded. Kim did not seem willing to part with the vein, though. "I said get off!" Shego hollered and punched Kim as hard as she could.

The redhead's teeth left Shego's arm and she was moved over thanks to the force in the punch. She turned to Shego and smiled, a thin crimson stream flowing from the corner of her mouth. Her fangs were on display and it was rather creepy to see. Briefly, there was a predator's glint in those olive eyes. Shego wondered if she would have to do Kim like she did Adrian.

"Thank you," Kim said sincerely.

"Don't mention it," Shego replied. It seemed like the kid was back to normal. She certainly was no monster now.

"You taste pretty good," Kim commented as she licked her lips. There was already a noticeable change in her appearance, color came back to her face and her frail form did not look so breakable anymore.

"Believe it or not, you're not the first person to tell me that. So, care to fill me on everything that I missed while you were having a time with Dracula?" Shego inquired.

Kim started to explain what she could remember, which was now a bit more than what she would have been capable before her drink. She explained that she had been chained to the wall because she tried to get away a few times in the beginning. She recalled not wanting to drink from anyone that Adrian brought to her, but he would sort of force-fed her to keep her somewhat alive. She was also able to explain why she was the only one that Adrian turned into a vampire despite all of the victims that he had.

It turned out that it took more than one bite for a person to become a vampire. Adrian had to drain Kim of all of her blood to turn her. He never completely drained his other victims. He would just have his fill until their heartbeats faded to the point he knew that they were about to die, but they still had some blood in their systems. He had no desire for a legion of vampires it would seem.

Shego then tried to get a grasp of what Kim remembered from her old life, but it all still seemed blurry to her. Kim's optimism was still there, though, because she did declare with confident smile that she was sure she would remember soon. She figured that things could only get better now that she free from Adrian.

Kim seemed to instinctively know when the sun was coming up because by sunrise, she was yawning more than she was talking. She tried to force herself to stay awake, but Shego was not much help as she was rubbing Kim's back to help relax her. Kim fell asleep mid-sentence.

"You deserve a peaceful sleep after eight months of Hell," Shego whispered to the snoozing hero.

After a few minutes, when Shego was certain that Kim was knocked out, she climbed to her feet. She went to the room door and was not surprised to see it was being guarded. Seconds after she opened the door, Doctor Director was standing before her.

"So, what did Miss Possible have to say?" the leader of Global Justice inquired.

"Aside from 'I'm hungry,'" Shego remarked and she held up her wounded arm. "This enough proof that she's a vampire? She bit the shit out of my arm and enjoyed the taste of my blood like a little vampire bat."

A brown eye rolled. "That proves nothing. You could've done that yourself while you were in there with her to work this sorry excuse for whatever reason you want to keep it up."

Shego snorted. "I guess she'll have to bite you before you believe me." She just hoped that someone believed her, so they could hopefully help Kim in someway.

As it turned out Shego was wrong on that matter, even though they eventually found out that she was telling the truth, and Kim was also wrong. The redhead was not free; she was now a prisoner of GJ. At first, she was angry, especially when they put up defenses to keep her in the room that they had given her. They were treating her as a threat because she was a vampire, which Kim quickly came to understand and accept. She was a threat. Whenever someone from GJ came into her cell, she did not even see a person anymore. All she saw was lunch. _Of course, I'm a threat! I'm a monster!_

Kim was not the only prisoner in GJ HQ. Shego was being held there, too. Kim asked for her every time that she woke up. Since Kim was behaving herself and they did not want to see what it was like when she misbehaved, they made sure Shego was close by and could be brought to Kim whenever the girl wanted her. Shego did not mind considering the fact that she had been tried and convicted of a few crimes and had a lengthy sentence to serve out. A backroom deal just meant that she got to serve her time in GJ HQ rather than some musty prison.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Shego and Kim's time as "guests" of GJ.


	4. Redemption

I don't own these characters.

4: Redemption

"How're they treating you, Princess?" Shego asked as she entered Kim's room/cell.

The redhead's room was better than hers, Shego always noted. Not that it really mattered considering the fact that they were both pretty cages. Shego had a nice room because they wanted to make sure she cooperated when they took her to see Kim, but Kim's room looked like a posh hotel suite. The only thing was that there was no bed. They had actually brought in a coffin for Kim to sleep in. Kim was surprised that she wanted to sleep in the thing, but it felt right every time that she crawled into the spacious box to get some sleep.

Shego was happy for anything that was not a serious ten by ten prison cell. Kim was definitely better company than any of her standard cellmates, too. Still, she was not being kept locked up, no matter how nice the accommodations and she was sure that Kim felt the same way most of the time. Of course, there were times when Kim thought she was right where she belonged, which depressed Shego. Things were not back to normal as she had hoped when she first embarked on the mission to find Kim.

"I guess they're treating me all right. They ran a lot of tests and everything," Kim answered as she got up from where she was sitting, on the ceiling. She floated down to Shego. As time passed, she was getting accustomed to using and controlling her vampire abilities.

"They figured out a way to cure you, yet?" Shego inquired as she took her usual seat on Kim's couch. She also turned on the television.

Kim did not typically use her television. She preferred to read when she was wake and not being tested. Seeing the outside world, but not being able to be a part of it in any way, depressed her. Shego was well aware of that. So, the super-powered female usually watched movies or cartoons when she turned on Kim's television; she had not been privileged with a set in her room.

The redhead hated to see anything displaying the outside world. She could not leave to do anything out there. Hell, she could not even be trusted out there. She used to be an adventurer, a hero, just an all-around active person and now she was regulated to a room or a laboratory. It was like a fate worse than death to her in many ways.

"No, they haven't figured out how to cure me yet. Right now, they're still trying to figure out how I even work," Kim answered while sitting on the other end of the sofa.

"That's crap. I was hoping they'd just fix you," Shego commented. She had brought Kim to GJ because she thought that they would turn her back to normal. Instead, they were using her for a research monkey. The thought put a scowl on her pale face.

"Why? You want to go back to how we used to be?" Kim asked. She had finally gotten most of her memory back, but it did not do her any good. She could not go back to her old life. She wished that she could at least let her parents know that she was all right, but it was out of the question with her being a vampire and all. She was not really all right.

Shego shrugged. "It wouldn't be so bad," she replied, referring to going back to the way things were.

Shego had gotten used to being Kim's friend. She was glad that Kim was her friend. She did not have many, if any of those. It was not such a bad thing to have pal and they got along rather well, despite some teasing and taunting that went on. That was their norm, though. It was good for both of them to have a little of their old lives with them and they figured that they would always have that as long as they were together.

They had been locked up together for over a year now. They saw each other almost everyday and talked a lot. They were comfortable around each other. Shego was just about the only person comfortable around Kim since they all knew that when the girl looked at them, she was typically seeing a meal. Kim was actually one of the few people comfortable around Shego considering the fact that Shego was a cranky malcontent that would not mind hurting as many people necessary if it meant that she could go free. They seemed to understand each other, which they both needed, like any other being on the planet.

"I guess it would be nice, but we'd hate each again," Kim pointed out.

"I guess." Shego sighed and then decided to let the topic drop in favor of another matter that concerned her. "So, they've been feeding you all right?" she inquired. She had not seen Kim for a few days because the redhead was having lab tests done on her. GJ tried to pull that test crap on her, too, because of her powers and she told them that she was no white rat, so if they wanted to test her, they had better be prepared for a lot of burns. They had thought she was joking until the first group of agents left her room needing medical attention.

"Lately, they've been bringing in some all right stuff," the girl answered with a shrug. The look on her face did not back up her words.

GJ had been messing up Kim's meals from the moment that she was stuck there. At first, they brought her animals to feed on because they figured that she should be able to live off of animal blood and they would not be bothered if she accidentally killed an animal. Sure, she could live off of the blood, but her body did not seem to function too well off of it. It did not help her memory any and her complexion began to go back to being pasty. She also started to lean on any human that was close to her and she had nearly bitten over two dozen people, but she stopped herself in time. Most people did not even know how close they came to having the equivalent of two thick syringes stuck in their flesh.

After GJ figured out that the animal blood was doing more harm than good, they began bringing Kim packets of fresh blood every few days. She did not know where they got the blood from, but she guessed it was from a hospital or blood bank or something like that. She just wished that they could be consistent with what they brought. One day they brought something good and sweet and then the next day, they would bring something just all around bad. Some of the blood she drank, she could not believe someone was actually allowed to give it away.

She still occasionally drank from Shego. Sometimes, the villainess offered if she thought that Kim looked a bit sickly, which was usually after a few days of bad blood delivered by GJ. Sometimes, Kim requested because to her, no blood was as good as Shego's. They no longer had trouble with Kim going for more than Shego would allow, which was good because it meant that Shego did not have to punch her in the head anymore.

"You want to do anything?" Shego asked curiously as she looked around the place. They did not have much they could do. They could play cards or board games or some other pointless thing. Every now and then they sparred, but it was hard to do because Shego still accidentally flared her hands when fighting Kim, which automatically sent the young vampire running for her coffin and that ended the combat.

"I'm just happy you're here," Kim replied with a smile.

There was something about Shego's presence that calmed the redheaded immortal. The feeling of security and reassurance that everything would be all right one day followed Shego like her shadow as far as Kim was concerned. She guessed that it was because Shego was the one that rescued her after others had failed or given up on her and Shego was the first person that she remembered, too. Sure, she had not remembered everything about Shego at first, but even when it all started coming back to her, the feelings that Shego brought with her did not change. Kim was glad for that; she could use all of the comfort that she could get.

"You're just saying that because you want a hug," Shego teased.

"Well …" Kim smiled again. It was an expression that probably would have bothered a lot of people because her fangs showed when she smiled.

"I'm not hugging you, Possible, so forget it."

Kim pretended to pout and then she was on Shego within the blink of an eye. She embraced the pale woman and sighed. She liked holding Shego and even though Shego liked to pretend otherwise, she liked holding Kim, too. She was not too sure why, but she felt good knowing Kim was with her and not still missing. Kim was relatively all right and that was a good thing, even though things were never going to be the way they used to be it seemed.

Shego supposed the year of being locked up with Kim also made her all right with hugging the kid. She was not sure how that worked because she never was really all right with hugging people until Kim. She had already invested so much energy in saving the kid that she guessed the hugging bit was just her still doing that. Kim needed emotional support and Shego was now the only person that she could get it from.

"Hey, Shego," Kim said after a long while.

"Hmm?" Shego was close to falling to asleep, not because of boredom or because she was tired, but because she felt peaceful. She supposed that feeling was another reason that she embraced the vampire. Kim somehow brought a sense of peace to her that she had never felt before.

"You want to get out of here?" the redhead inquired out of the blue.

A pale green forehead creased. "Out of here?"

"At least for a little while."

"How so? Everything is monitored and the room is designed for you to stay in if that's what they want from you," Shego pointed out.

"I know, but do you want to get out? If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you want to be?" Kim asked.

Shego thought on it. She was not sure where she would want to be. It turned out that it did not matter to her where she was as long as Kim was there. Kim made every place, even a nice room that they knew was a cell, feel like an all right place to be. She wondered if she always liked the irksome redhead because of the way being with Kim made her feel now, but she just never acknowledged it because it was not necessary.

"I wouldn't care where I was. If you're next me and we can look up at the clear sky, it would be all right," Shego answered honestly.

"Do you mean that?" Kim inquired.

"I do."

"Then hold on."

Shego wondered what the girl was going on about and then before she knew it, she was swallowed up by darkness. Before she could comprehend what was going on, she and Kim were sitting underneath a tree on a hill with a clear view of the wide, open midnight sky. Shego looked around without realizing that she was clinging to Kim.

"Princess, what the hell just happened?" Shego inquired in a rather puzzled tone, scanning the area in a slight panic.

"I just figured out how to teleport. I didn't even know that vampires did that, but I saw it a few times and figured that I might be able to it. I haven't told anyone yet," Kim answered. She also did not mention where she had seen a vampire teleporting, but they both knew who her unwitting teacher was. So far, his name was taboo for Kim and Shego respected that.

"How'd you keep this a secret?" the older woman asked curiously.

"I practiced in my coffin," the redhead replied. Her room was hooked up with all kinds of surveillance equipment, so she had to be way careful if she figured out how to do something new that she did not want them to know about.

"Oh," Shego commented as if it was the most logical thing in the world to do and to say. They had long gotten to the point where Kim doing something in her coffin did not seem weird, which they both knew was strange in and of itself.

"So, you okay?" Kim asked. She wanted to be useful to Shego in someway considering all the pale woman had done for her.

Shego nodded as she loosened her grip on the younger woman. "This is great, but you know, they're going to come looking for us."

"I know. But, let's have this moment."

Shego nodded and she curled up next to Kim, cuddling the vampire. They looked up at the nighttime sky together. It had been a long time since they both could just enjoy something that most people took for granted. Maybe, one day, they would be able to watch the sunrise or sunset together too.

"This is brilliant, Kimmie," Shego commented after a few minutes.

Kim nodded in agreement and she turned to look at Shego. Shego looked at her and they started leaning toward each other. It was not the first time, but they usually stopped because they knew all of GJ was watching. No reason to stop now, especially since it was such a beautiful setting.

And then there were suddenly helicopters and GJ agents all over the place. The two escapees pulled away from each other and looked around to see dozens of guns trained on them. Doctor Director then stepped forward.

"So … do you have one or both of us chipped?" Shego inquired, speaking to the leader of Global Justice. She was being serious because of how quickly the agency found them.

"What did you think you were doing?" Doctor Director countered.

"We just wanted to get out for a little while," Kim explained with a shrug.

"Shego's a prisoner serving out a sentence. She can't just get out for a while," Doctor Director pointed out.

"Right, and so am I," Kim sighed.

"Miss Possible, you know that you are a special case," the one-eyed woman said. It sounded bad that Kim thought of herself as a prisoner like Shego was. They were not trying to make Kim seem like a captive, even though she was pretty much that.

"Maybe I'm sick of being a special case," Kim snorted in anger. And then all of the guns around them were cocked.

"I hope you guys don't plan to put Kimmie down," Shego said while holding up a flaming hand. Like hell she was going to let them just kill Kim after all the trouble she had gone through saving the girl and allowing herself to be arrested to get Kim help that they were not even providing.

"Relax, ladies," Doctor Director urged them. She hated to think how many agents she would lose starting a battle with vampire Kim and an angry Shego. "Now, how about we all go back to headquarters and talk things out like civilized beings?" she proposed.

Kim and Shego glanced at each other. At the moment, they were free. They could run right through all of the GJ agents and never have to look back. But then, what? Shego would have to steal a coffin for Kim to sleep in immediately because come sunrise, Kim either had to be out of sight or die. And then she would have to find a secure location for the casket. Besides, there was the matter of probably having to kill some people if they wanted to escape cleanly and neither of them was very comfortable with that idea.

"Fine," the prisoners sighed and they voluntarily returned to their gilded cage.

-8-8-8-8-

"What's the problem, ladies? Don't you have it good here?" Doctor Director asked Kim and Shego. The three of them were gathered in her office. Shego was sitting in a chair while Kim was floating at about the height she would have been if she had sat in a chair. Out of all of her powers, Kim got the hang of flight the fastest because it was her favorite one.

"Good in comparison to other prisons, yeah," Shego concurred.

"You don't even have a right to complain," the one-eyed woman pointed out to Shego.

"Never said I did, doesn't stop me from doing it, though. Besides, I was only along for the ride," the super-powered woman replied.

"Regardless—" Doctor Director started to say, but Shego cut her off.

"You know, you might have a right to treat me any damn way that you please, but first of all, you wouldn't even be holding me if I didn't go out and do your job of finding Kimmie. Second of all, I brought her here because I thought you jackasses would help her. Instead, you're studying her like she's a dead carcass of an animal you've never seen before. Third of all, she's only here voluntarily despite what the hell you all want to tell yourselves. And the only reason she's staying is because she wants you to fucking help her, so she can go back to her family, who I am sure, miss her and would love to know she's not dead," Shego declared.

Doctor Director was speechless for the moment. Shego had made quite a few good points in her mini-speech. She glanced over at Kim, who was just sitting quietly. The redhead did not feel like she had to say anything now that Shego had pretty much hit the nail on the head.

While Kim might enjoy sleeping in cramped spaces now, she was going a bit stir crazy from having to be in the same secured room day in and day out. She was being treated more like a monkey than anything else by GJ because they had never seen a vampire before and they wanted to understand how she worked, especially if they had to face a vampire one day. They did figure that if there was one vampire, there was probably more and they would like to be prepared by knowing what they were up against. They did not seem to be trying to figure out a way to make her normal again and she was growing sick of it. She did want to go back to her family one day, especially since they still believed that she was missing.

"We're trying our best," Doctor Director tried to assure Kim.

"At what? Making me feel even more like a monster? I really thought you would help me. Instead, you act like you're doing me a favor by keeping me locked in that room," Kim replied.

"We take care of you. If you want books, we bring them. If you want blood, we bring it. Hell, we bring you Shego every damn day because you want her—"

"What about giving me back my humanity? What happened to that? Am I such a fascinating creature like this that you guys don't even give a damn that I was once a human kid with dreams and a life ahead of me? Now, I've got to live in the shadows and feed on what I once was. I was fucking seventeen for crying out loud! I wanted to go to college! I wanted to build a career! Maybe even one day get married and have kids, but do you care about that? No! All you care about is how the vampire works. I just …" Kim sniffled. "I just want to go home …" She put her head down.

"Great, now you made her cry," Shego said to Doctor Director to hopefully make the one-eyed woman feel worse than she already should and did. She put her arm around Kim and rubbed the teen's shoulder to comfort her.

Doctor Director sighed. She supposed that they had been treating Kim more like an experiment than Kim Possible, but they were trying to help her and they were trying to protect the rest of humanity. Who knew what might happen if they let a vampire out to wander the streets. But, she had to admit that there had not been an incident in the year that Kim had been among them. Sure, she had a habit of looking at everyone as if they were prime rib, but she had yet to attack anyone like they were choice steaks.

"What do you want me to do, Kim? You do realize that I can't just let a vampire wander the streets, especially since you want Shego with you all the time. You have to understand my situation," the one-eyed woman sighed.

"I know, but I won't hurt anybody. I just want out … at least for a little while. I'll keep coming back for experiments and I won't attack anyone. Shego would make sure of it. After all, I don't think she wants me killing anyone anymore than you do or anymore than I do," Kim pointed out.

"You want me to trust Shego to watch you?" Doctor Director asked incredulously.

"Why not? I found her while you were all sitting around with your thumbs up your asses swearing to whoever that she was probably dead anyway. You had poor Stoppable thinking he was nuts and probably still thinking that since you guys want to keep this whole thing a big secret. I think at this point if anyone's trust should be called into question it should be yours. I should be saying I trusted you with Kimmie and you just screwed her over if anything," Shego argued.

"Look, I can understand and appreciate your positions—"

"No, you can't," Kim interjected. "I don't want to stay here anymore and I'm not going to stay here anymore," she declared.

"What are you saying, Miss Possible?" Doctor Director inquired.

"Why should I stay some place I don't want to, especially if you're not helping me? I don't want to be your prisoner anymore and I don't have to be," Kim stated as she put her feet down on the floor. "Now, this can go two ways, you can actually understand and appreciate our positions or I can take Shego and cut through your whole organization until we're out. And I know you think you're all high tech with your sun lamps and fire and whatever the hell else you got, but I will get out. I promise you that. No point in staying here if you're not going to help me."

"Kim, we're trying," Doctor Director tried to assure the girl, but not having seen any results for a year was not making that believable.

"So, you can keep trying, but you could let me out. I want to do something, anything. How would you like to be locked in a room for a year after already being locked in a basement for just as long? I haven't done anything wrong. I was just trying to help people and I want to at least get a chance to go back to doing something normal. I want to get out and be myself in some way," Kim said.

"Kim—"

"Doctor," Kim growled and there was a familiar spark in her eyes. She was getting frustrated and the more frustrated she got, the harder it was to remember that the woman before her was Betty Director, someone that she respected. Instead, the woman was looking more like a frail piece of human meat that needed to shut up and listen.

"Maybe you want to listen just a bit, doc," Shego suggested. "After all, we are in an enclosed area with Kim and she can move faster than our eyes can track. Kim could be on you and ripping your arms off before we even know it. Hell, before you even register the pain," she remarked. When Kim did not object, it seemed even more plausible.

Doctor Director had no choice to consider her position and she had come up with the same thing that Shego did. She supposed that she needed to work something out with Kim before the girl did lose it. She just was not sure what to work out considering Kim was a vampire.

-*-(New day)-*-

"Yeah, mission accomplished. We got back everything," Shego reported in a dull voice into her comm. unit.

She was standing in dark hallway, dressed in a horrible dark blue uniform. It almost made her feel dirty. _The things I do for this kid_. She was working off her debt to society in two ways. One would be working for GJ and the other would be babysitting a world-saving vampire. She turned around to see what her partner was up to. She groaned because Kim was about to bite into their unconscious foe's hand.

"Kimmie, put that down. You don't know where he's been," Shego scolded the redhead.

Kim groaned and dropped the hand. "But, I'm hungry," she complained.

"You just ate before we left," Shego pointed out.

"It was like a thimble full of blood before we had to run out and get this guy."

"All right, all right. Stop whining. I'll feed you when we get back to the apartment. Geez," Shego sighed. She had to watch Kim almost all of the time because there was no telling what that girl might put in her mouth.

Once GJ came to pick up the bad guy and his loot, Shego and Kim were free to go home. They had an apartment very close to GJ HQ. It was not a big or fancy apartment at all. It was just a regular two-bedroom place and Kim's room had the windows blocked off to prevent any sunlight from entering the space.

The pair had not been a problem for GJ yet, except sometimes they got a little rough with their quarry. But, they had not killed anyone and thanks to Shego's sharp eye, they had yet to find any bite marks on anyone either. So, it would seem that everything was going fine and GJ was still working on a way to turn Kim back to normal. The pair settled into their home and they were ready to go to sleep as the sun began to rise.

"Hey, Kimmie, I was wondering something," Shego said, standing in the doorway of Kim's room. They were both in pajamas, even though some might have thought it weird that a vampire was dressed in pajamas to go sleep in a casket.

"Yeah?" Kim asked.

"What's it like sleeping in that?" the green-skinned female inquired, nodding toward the box.

"You want to see?"

Shego shrugged. She really was curious as to what it was like sleeping in that coffin considering the fact that Kim did it every night. It seemed like it should be uncomfortable.

"Come on, get in," Kim said as she held open the lid of her casket.

Shego was a little reluctant to get into a small, death box, but her curiosity won out. She crawled into the space, which was cushioned with velvet; it would seem that GJ was not kidding around when they sprung for the coffin. Kim then climbed in and eased the lid down. They lay on their sides, facing each other.

"Can we get locked in?" Shego asked curiously.

"No, the top's got hinges like a kitchen cabinet. It doesn't lock," Kim answered.

Shego nodded. It was not so bad in there, especially since she got to be close to Kim. It was not as cramped as she thought it would be either. She supposed that things were not so bad now, even though she did want GJ to return Kim to being human.

"Hey, Shego," Kim said.

"Yeah?" Shego replied.

"Thank you for everything."

"Don't mention it, kid. My life was boring without you around," the super-powered woman replied.

"Still you went out on a limb for me and I really appreciate it."

"Can you appreciate it while going to sleep? You know Doctor Director is going to work us like dogs come sunset," Shego remarked.

Kim chuckled a little and then she did something that she wanted to do for a while now, she leaned over and kissed Shego. It was nothing overly romantic, just a sweet, tender kiss. It was almost like a "thank you" kiss, but Shego accepted it all the same. They did not talk about the gentle embrace when it was done. They just fell asleep; there was plenty of time to talk about things considering how long they would be together thanks to GJ.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the conclusion.


	5. Hope

I don't own these characters and I don't own Blade.

5: Hope

Kim tossed and turned in her empty coffin, having another nightmare. It was a good thing that she was the only person in the box or Shego, who sometimes shared the space with her, would have been pummeled in her sleep. Shego had opted to sleep in her bed that morning as she had been doing the past few days.

The redheaded vampire had thought that something was up with Shego when she started going back to her bed, but she considered that Shego might just need space in more way than one. After all, the coffin did not leave much room for moving around if two people were in it and maybe Shego just wanted to some time alone. Kim could understand needing some time alone.

Despite the fact that she had Shego, Kim still sometimes felt completely and totally alone. She was just different and she was not sure if there was someone else like her in the world. It did not help that she felt out of touch with all of humanity since she was not human at all anymore. She felt isolated, a lone island in a massive, rough sea, and it did not help that she had not seen her family since her transformation.

She had not seen anything from her old life since she was turned into a vampire. Not just because of GJ holding her captive, but she was not sure if she could or should show herself in her current state. She did not trust herself to be around her loved ones, especially since she knew how she often looked at humans.

The pain that she felt from not having her life anymore and possibly being the only vampire on the planet was indescribable. She often wished that one day she would just wake up and find that it had all been a nightmare. That day never came, though.

The redhead woke up that night and went out to the living room of the apartment. She thought that Shego might be out there, either waiting for her to tell her about their next assignment or just lounging, but the living room was empty. She checked in the kitchen, thinking that Shego might be making herself some breakfast, but that was not happening either. The bathroom was the last place for her to check, but it was also unoccupied.

Kim's brown wrinkled and she felt a small shiver of panic speed through her. _Where's Shego?_ She stopped herself from bugging out as she recalled that there was still one last place that she had not looked. She went to Shego's bedroom, which was covered in books and papers. The books and papers were from Shego's research.

Shego was trying to figure out a way to change Kim back since GJ did not seem to be doing the trick. It had already been five years. They had gone on many wild goose chases, with the permission of Doctor Director, going after things that should have cured Kim as far as books were concerned, but they had done nothing for her. She was still very much a vampire.

The "cures" tended to fake them out every now and then. It was like Kim would take the cure or they would do the ritual or whatever and Kim would feel different for a moment. They would get hopeful and then the feeling would pass. They would see that she was still a blood-drinker. It was a bit infuriating.

It also was frustrating for Shego because Kim often insisted on coming with her when she went to go hunt for potential cures. The young vampire did not like being left completely alone, so if Shego was going to go some place on the other side of the world, Kim wanted to come. It was unbelievably difficult dragging a vampire around the world because Kim needed her coffin to be dragged with her.

Other than having to take Kim everywhere, Shego was frustrated because none of the cures worked. She read folklore from all over the world and anything else that she could get her hands on, hoping that somewhere the truth and the cure were buried. She just wanted Kim back and she did not care where she had to go or what she had to do in order to get her old foe back to normal.

Kim, herself, had slowly adjusted to what she was, even if she was different and feeling alone at times. She had gotten over feeling like a monster thanks to Shego, who was very supportive of her. Shego talked to her about it often and did her best to make sure that Kim accepted that it was not her fault that she was changed and she was not evil for craving what was now in her nature. Even with those feelings, she still had some trouble with the hand life had dealt her and sometimes let self-loathing leak into her heart.

The redhead stepped into the bedroom and saw that Shego was lying in her bed. She was sleeping with a book in her hand. She was on top of some papers and had a book underneath her head on top of her pillow.

"I never would've thought that the great and mighty Shego would end up something like a crazed librarian," the former hero muttered. "Of course, I never imagined myself ending up a vampire, so fair's fair."

Kim moved some of the papers and the books off of the bed. She covered Shego with the blanket that was on her bed and made sure that Shego's head was rested perfectly on the pillow. She then kissed Shego on the cheek and left the room.

The vampire was not sure what she was going to do with herself since Shego was sleeping. Usually when they did not have a mission, they hung out and watched television or they played games or just something. She was not accustomed to having the night to herself and she tried to think back to what she used to do at times like this before she was changed. Nothing came to mind.

"I guess I'll have to improvise."

The first thing that Kim did was grab herself something to eat from out of the refrigerator. Global Justice had recently come up with a synthetic form of blood for her to feed on. That was just about the only thing that they had done to help her since her transformation and, from what she could tell, it might be the only thing that they could do to help her because they did not seem any closer to a cure from when Shego first brought her in.

The synthetic blood tasted like ashes as far as she was concerned, but it did do the job that it needed to do, namely it kept her alive and well. She could not drink it all the time, though or it did have the habit of making her sick. So, she still needed human blood on occasion, which she typically got from Shego. If she did not get the blood from Shego, GJ delivered packets for her to drink.

Her relationship with Shego was now a complicated one, even though they both did not acknowledge that. They needed each other and that went beyond Kim's requiring blood. A clue that both ladies were still human, despite what others (Global Justice) would like to believe, was the fact that they needed company. They needed someone to share their lives with and with Kim being a vampire, Shego was just about the only person willing to trust her enough to be stay around her. Shego was still serving a long sentence for all of her crimes and she had little desire to serve the time in a prison, probably in solitary confinement considering the escape risk that she was.

They were the best of friends, not that either of them would acknowledge that. They had a bond that they never spoke on, but they both knew it was there. They recognized things in each other that no one else saw in them, even before things got weird; or so they thought, anyway. Along with their deep connection, they did things that regular friends did.

They talked at length, had good-natured arguments, and even when they disagreed, they would make up before the night was over. They enjoyed being physically close to each other and often embraced each other for no reason, just needing to reminder that someone cared. They seemed to know what they both needed, even without any words being passed between them, which was why Kim knew not to bother Shego for the past few days.

Shego needed some space for whatever reason. Kim guessed that while the green-skinned woman was getting her space, she was going to have to find something to do with her time. And she got the perfect idea. She just hoped it did not get Shego into any trouble since the older woman was her official babysitter. She also hoped that Shego did not wake up anytime soon or she would undoubtedly freak out.

Kim vanished from the apartment and decided to go see what she was missing on the outside world, the world that GJ did not trust in her despite the fact that she had not caused any trouble yet. She had not done anything to warrant such distrust, especially since she had Shego watching her. In all the years that she had been a predator, she had not attacked anyone; well, she had not attacked anyone to feed on the person, anyway. Being an informal GJ agent, of course she attacked people, but they were bad guys.

She appeared on the street and started walking around. It felt nice to just be able to do such a simple thing. While being stuck working for GJ, yes, she got to go outside, but she did not get to do anything simple. She usually had to go and find a criminal and subdue the villain. At the moment, she did not even have to think about bad guys.

Kim strolled down the street and she knew immediately what she wanted to do while she was out on her own. She wanted to check on her family first and foremost and so she started in the direction of her home. She wondered what they had been up to in the last … five years she believed it was.

Time to Kim had become an odd thing. She did not perceive large amounts of time the way she used to. They just did not seem so large. Everything sort of ran together too since she could only come out at night. Time also had no affect on her really, so it did not matter too much.

She did not make her presence known when she arrived at the house. Her family still thought that she was missing person. They kept a candle in the window for her and it was lit at the moment she arrived. Doctor Director told her about the candle, trying to assure her that her family had not forgotten her. She thought it was nice, if not a little silly, for the woman that would not let her go out on her own out of fear that she might eat someone was trying to comfort her by letting her know that she was remembered somewhere. Doctor Director told her a lot about her family, but undoubtedly told her family nothing about her.

"I don't know why that depresses me more. Even upsets me sometimes. Maybe its because sometimes it feels like she's only giving me the information to make sure I don't go crazy and tear all of GJ apart," Kim muttered to herself.

She noticed her parents inside the house, alone. Her brothers had graduated high school and were off to college. _It's kind of funny_, she thought; her brothers were in college. She had not even gotten the chance to finish her last year of high school. Well, she supposed the bright side to not going to college was that she did not have to see the tweebs considering they went to a college in the same town that she wanted to go to college in. She was proud of them, though.

"Wish I could tell them how proud I am. Wish I told them how much I actually loved them before all of this crap happened. I mean, I'm sure they know, but I wish I had told them, even though they were annoying little brothers, I did love them," Kim sighed and shook her head.

She had left so many things unsaid or undone, but she thought she had time. She had been seventeen, after all. No teenager ever considered that her life could be ended so easily and Kim was a special case as her life had been ended without even dying.

"Well, I guess I did die. All my blood was drained out of me and I'm pretty much an animated corpse," Kim said and then she shook her head. "Stop thinking about that stuff. I should see Mom and Dad. I hope they're okay." She moved to another window to scan for her parents.

Her parents, as far as she knew and could see, were still pretty much the same, outwardly anyway. She knew that they were wondering where she was and probably scared that she had died a long time ago, which was true in a sense, but she was still there. She had changed, but she liked to think that she was still Kim and that they could still love her. She wished that she could just go in the house and tell them that everything was all right and that she alive, but she could not do that now. Not while she was still the way she was.

She did not think that her parents would turn her away because she was vampire, but it would only bring more trouble into their lives. They would see that she was alive, but they would have to know that she survived off of human blood. They would have to deal with the fact that GJ was keeping her on a very short leash and that she was not really allowed out into the general population. They would have to know that they probably would not be able to see her whenever they felt like it and that she was a lab rat for some very curious people back at GJ. They would have to know that she was not happy with her life, despite having a life and having Shego with her, and there was nothing that they could do to change that. It would be a lot to deal with, especially as parents, and she did not want to put them through that.

They could imagine that she was somewhere better and that she was totally fine, she figured if she did not reveal herself. They could hope for the best instead of seeing what she was reduced to. She was going to return to them someday, but not now. She would do it when she could completely trust herself and it would not enter her mind that her parents were something inferior, as she had a small habit of doing when humans started getting annoying in someway or haughty.

Well, she supposed that she could leave her parents something to ease their anxiety. She did not want them to keep wondering, even though she had plans to see them at some point. It was just that not knowing that was bothering her. She did not want her parents to always wonder was she dead or was she alive. She wanted them to be able to move if only a little bit.

She vanished from where she was and reappeared in her old bedroom. She had teleporting down rather well, practicing as much as she could. She could do it for some distance without much trouble. Also she did not have to worry about where she was appearing because she could see the place right before she was about to reappear, so she knew if she had to change where she was going to touchdown.

She floated when she got into the room because she did not want to make any noise touching the floor. Her parents would have heard the footsteps and probably thought that they were being robbed or something like that. She did not want to alarm them or call any attention to herself.

She looked around the room. It was just how she left it. It seemed like she was going to come back to it within minutes, instead it had been years since she had been there. She had outgrown many of the things in it too. She wondered about the posters on her wall and the stuffed animals on her bed. _I was just a teenager_, she reminded herself.

"Well, I am still a teenager," she commented, looking down at herself.

She had gotten used to how she was now for the most part, so she did forget that she was a teenager when she was turned. Age did not really enter her mind anymore and she guessed that was because it did not matter to her anymore. She did not age. She was stuck in her seventeen year old body forever and it was better to not think about that. It would be depressing if she thought that she was always going to be seventeen.

She would never get older like a normal human being. She would never do a lot of things that normal humans did as they grew up, grew older, and lived their lives. The very idea used to get her down a lot. She just tried to never think about those things now. She could do some things and that was enough for the moment. Things could have been worse. After all, she could have just died back in the castle and not changed. Out of everything that happened, she was glad that she was still alive in some way because as long as she was still alive, there was hope in her mind.

Kim grabbed some paper from her computer desk and began writing her parents a note. It was not a long note. It was just to tell them that she was alive and that she was going to see them again someday soon. She just could not see them now because she had to work through some things. She told them that they did not have to worry about her and that they did not have to carry around the weight of not knowing anymore. They could breathe easy because she would be home again one day.

She then took that note and left it on the dining room table; she could hear her parents in the living room. She figured that they would notice the note in the morning since the table was clear. She was right about that.

The vampire then vanished from the house. She walked around the old neighborhood and even went to Ron's house. Ron did not live there anymore. He was an adult, a grown man. He lived in Japan, running a restaurant that he just recently started. He was married to Yori and even went on ninja missions with her.

Kim had seen him not too long ago, but he had not seen her. She had seen him when missions that they had collided, but she had stayed well hidden. He had seen Shego and actually got to talking to her, revealing some of his inner most feelings because he still worried about Kim. It gnawed at him that he had not been able to protect her, to help her, and he hated not knowing what happened to her. He could barely even talk to Yori about it, he had confessed and she was the person that he was closest to in the world now.

Shego had done something unlike her at the time and assured Ron that Kim was fine and he did not need to worry about her anymore. He did not know what to say to it and she told him to shut up for once and just take it in. So, he did.

He seemed to be doing pretty well outside of the depression he had in thinking about his missing best friend from what Kim could tell. She had sneaked off to see him for a moment; well, she had not really sneaked off. Shego let her go for a while, telling her not to bite any strangers without their permission as a joke. He seemed happy with his life for the most part. She was happy for him.

Seeing that Ron had moved on as best he could, it helped her move on as best she could. It also reinvigorated her on not allowing her new nature to get the better of her. Seeing Ron gave her more hope and drive to become human again, to be able to live in the world again, and to one day be able to tell Ron to his face that he had not failed her in any way. She knew that he had done all he could, she had done all she could, and it still was not enough. They had just been outmatched that day.

Now, seeing her parents and old neighborhood also helped her. She might not be able to go back to the way things were, but she had to move on and she would hopefully be able to reenter everyone's lives without them having to freak out over what she was now eventually. She wanted to be totally fine with herself to show them that they could be totally fine with her. She did not want them to feel bad for her, so she had to feel good about herself and she was getting there. She accepted herself for the most part now and she thought that would help others accept her.

She wandered by the old high school and decided to walk around it. She went on the football field and thought about all the cheerleading that she had done for the team. It was another lifetime ago, it seemed. She felt nostalgic, but not regretful.

She wished that she had graduated high school, but it was something that she just was not going to do more than likely. She accepted that. She was not going to get to do certain things. She did not lose hope, but she accepted what she was.

"I have to accept what I am or just live in a hole for the rest of eternity and I'm not about that," Kim reminded herself. _Not that Shego would let me hide out from the rest of the world anyway_.

She walked around for the rest of the night and almost got caught by the sun. She made it home just in time and practically dived into her coffin, even though she was safe once she made it into her room. She settled into her casket and felt a little better than she had when she woke up. She felt like everything was going to be all right, no matter what happened.

-8-8-8-8-

The doctors' Possible woke up to find the note that had been left by Kim. They cried as they read it, knowing it was real because they recognized her handwriting. They were so glad to know that their daughter was still alive. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of their shoulders and they could go on so much easier. She was going to come home someday. They were going to see her again. She was all right. It was the best news that they had ever received.

-8-8-8-8-

Shego rose in the morning, yawning. She pushed her covers away from her and got out of bed. She staggered by the piles of books in her path and went to the bathroom. She washed her face, which helped awake her up completely. She then went out into the living room and drew all of the curtains.

She breathed in deeply as the morning sun bathed her in light. It felt so good to be in the light again. The past few days she had just been enjoying the sun. For long time, she had tried to stay on Kim's schedule, sleeping in the day, rising at night, even sleeping in Kim's comfortable coffin.

She had no problem with doing that. She enjoyed being with Kim, but she missed a lot of the things. The sun was at the top of that list. So, for the moment, she was just going to revel in the light.

"All I need is a beach chair," she mumbled with a half-smile.

She wished that they had balcony because she could sunbathe on it. But, their apartment was not that great. She guessed that she could just leave for a little while and go out into a park to sunbathe. It was not like Kim was going to go anywhere while she was gone, so there should not be much of a problem. If Doctor Director called and she was gone, it could spell trouble.

The leader of GJ typically called a few times a week to make sure that she and Kim were where they were supposed to be. As far as GJ were considered, she and Kim were just about the most dangerous duo on the planet at the moment and they wanted to make sure they were in their apartment at all times. Maybe they were right in a way.

Shego acknowledged that she and Kim had the potential to be a deadly duo, but neither of them had any interest in it. Shego passed her time trying to find out ways to get Kim back to normal. She knew more folklore than most people holding doctorates on the matter. She also knew that no one through out history so far was right about ways to cure a human from being a vampire. She wished those Blade movies had been right about vampirism being a virus with a cure.

From what Shego could tell, vampirism was somewhat more like what it was thought of in the Middle Ages, the undead. But, it was stranger than that. Kim was very certain that Adrian had killed her, but while GJ conducted tests on the redhead, they found that she was in alive. She had a heartbeat, brain activity, and blood coursing through her veins. Her body was even warm like any other living creature; she just was not as warm as an average human being. Kim had died, but came back to life. She was something beyond their comprehension because she was alive, needed blood to remain that way, but did not age like other living things. They could not explain her.

Shego did not want an explanation. She still wanted a cure, even though that would come with consequences. Once Kim was cured, she would be free to go and Shego would be left serving her time alone, in a rank prison cell most assuredly. It was a maddening thought, but Shego had promised that she was going to cure Kim.

Shego felt a responsibility toward Kim now. It ran deep within her and she actually liked the feeling. She had gotten used to the feeling and she wanted to keep her word to the petite vampire. It was frustrating to find that she could not do that because there did not seem to be a cure for Kim's particular disease.

"If it is a disease," she snorted.

She had not noticed that Kim stopped viewing it as a disease or an ailment a while ago. It did not matter to Shego what it was anyway. She was focused on curing the girl and that was that. She wanted Kim to be happy since she had taken the time out of her life to go find the girl and everything.

She went and made herself some breakfast. It felt good to eat breakfast food during breakfast time. She also liked eating alone. When she did eat with Kim around, the redhead had a habit of watching her. She thought that Kim longed to eat human food again, but that was not really the case.

Kim just liked watching Shego for some reason that was beyond the young vampire. Some people might have thought that Kim was watching a desired meal. Sometimes, Kim even wondered if that was why she stared, but she did not feel attacking Shego and feeding off of her. Kim hardly ever felt like attacking anyone lately. She had that pretty much under control, which Shego knew better than the vampire herself since Kim still sometimes wondered while Shego was certain that the girl would never attack someone as a meal.

Shego enjoyed the waffles that she made for herself and then she just went and stood by the window. The sunlight felt so good. It was like getting into a warm bath with bubbles, bath beads, and other luxury items. She wished that she could bottle the feeling to save it for later when she got back on Kim's schedule.

"When I go back to doing everything for Kim," she said, but she sounded pleased about it.

She could not believe how much she had changed for one little vampire, but she felt good about the change. She had someone in her life that she cared about and someone that cared about her in return just as much. Someone that saw her as an equal and not a subordinate. Someone that would do anything for her and she obviously would do anything for, including give blood and become an expert in folklore.

She guessed that things would be better if only they were not prisoners. It was only natural to get a little down under such circumstances, she told herself. The thought was not as comforting as she would have liked it to be.

She was drawn out of her thoughts as the phone rang. She could not believe that Doctor Director was calling so early. She knew that it was the one-eyed woman because she was the only one with their number. She decided to answer if only to find out what was so important that Doctor Director was calling during a time she and Kim were typically asleep.

"Yeah?" Shego answered the phone.

"Aren't you supposed to be watching our friendly neighborhood vampire?" Betty demanded with a growl.

"Why? You want me to open the coffin and see her sleeping?" Shego countered.

"One of the agents spotted her on the street last night."

Shego snorted. "What are your agents doing with leisure time? Shouldn't they be saving the world or something? And besides, why should I care, anyway?"

"People could have been hurt," the one-eyed woman pointed out.

"But, they weren't, so let's just end the discussion right now before feelings get hurt," Shego replied. _Okay, so Kim went out last night, so what?_ No one was dead; Doctor Director was too calm for someone to be dead or even bitten. _What the hell is problem? Well, beyond the fact that GJ is so goddamn uptight, it's a surprise that anyone working there can blink considering how tense they are._

"You're supposed to watch her. She could've hurt someone."

"She's not going to hurt anyone. Geez, you're more of a cynic than I am. She's pretty much the same kid you knew and used to get do your dirty work for. She wants to help and she does. She just can't go out in the sun anymore and drinks blood. Calm down, I don't see her knocking you for eating chicken. She's not going around talking about how you might hurt the chickens," the green-skinned woman pointed out.

"This isn't funny. You keep an eye on her or—" the leader of GJ was cut off.

"Or what? You'll throw me in a maximum-security prison and try to keep an eye on her yourself? Good luck," Shego scoffed. The only reason that she could keep an eye on Kim was because the redhead wanted her to and everyone knew that.

Betty was frowning on the other end of the line and it was clear in her tone. "Just watch her."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Shego said and she hung up the phone because she did not feel like dealing with Betty anymore. She really hated that woman.

Shego went to check on Kim. She was not sure why, but she did. She went to the dark room and lifted the lid of the coffin just a little bit. Kim was in there as expected and sleeping like the dead, curled up on her side with a pillow under her head. Shego closed the casket before she accidentally woke the vampire up.

Once she was certain that Kim was there, she guessed anyway, she went to the living room and watched some television. She was tempted to watch the news, but resisted the temptation. She did not need to know anything about the outside world since she was no longer a part of it. So, she never watched the news and was not about to break that streak.

She watched some cartoons. They were her and Kim's favorite things to watch on television. She was not sure why, but she just thought that they were hilarious. Well, the classic ones, anyway. She was not too much a fan of the new cartoons. They even got GJ to spring for some DVDs and they had a huge collection of classic cartoons. They also had a bunch of movies from just about the times since movies were invented to recent blockbusters.

So, Shego passed the time watching television and just loving the sun on her skin. After a while, she decided to go back to her research, hoping to find some new clue to a cure. She went to her room and picked up her books. She drew the curtains and let the light from the sun in her room. She got into that and did not notice when the darkness was taking over the room.

Shego then suddenly went rigid. A second later she felt hands wrapping around her waist and a small weight against her back. _It's funny_, she thought. Even with the fact that Kim could appear out of nowhere, she still knew when the girl was around without seeing her. It was a sense that came in handy when living with a tricky little vampire.

"What did I tell about coming in my room without knocking?" Shego teased.

"You said I shouldn't do the mist thing to come in," Kim replied.

"Then how'd you get this time?"

"Came in through a shadow."

"Don't do that either then," Shego said.

"You're not leaving me many options in sneaking into your room," the redhead remarked.

"That would be the point."

"You're just mad because you can't sneak into my room," Kim joked.

"I just did this morning. You were sleeping," Shego pointed out.

"Yeah, it was morning. And you're reading again," Kim sighed.

"Doy."

"You should take a break."

Shego shook her head, against that idea. Kim was not for that and swiftly reached for the book that Shego was reading. She yanked the book and flung it across the room.

"Kimmie!" Shego huffed.

"You stress over the books too much. Take a break. You don't need to do this every single night or every waking moment. I'm all right as I am for the moment. So, you don't need to break your back over me," Kim informed the older female and then she kissed Shego's neck.

Shego expected fangs to be involved with that kiss because sometimes Kim would playfully nip her, but that was not the case. It was just a nice, deep, soothing kiss. It was a ploy to get her to stop working, she knew that, but that did not mean anything.

"You mean, you don't want to be human again?" Shego inquired with an arched eyebrow.

"Not that. It's just I'm all right with how I am, like you're all right with how you are, so you can take a break. You don't have to work every waking moment for my sake and wear yourself out," Kim replied.

Shego was not sure if she totally understood until she realized what Kim meant. Shego was different thanks to her powers. Some people might not even know that she was human. But, she was happy the way that she was. She doubted that she would go back to normal if she could. So, maybe Kim had grown used to how she was and could stand living like that.

The only thing was that if Kim remained a vampire, they would never go back to the way that they were. They would not be able to fight like they used to. Well, they could spar, but she could not ignite her hands to do it or she would kill Kim. She guessed that things were not so bad. It was actually hard to think that things were so bad with the small amount of warm weight against her.

Despite everything, they still had each other. They would be there for each other. And when they were ready, they were going to go off on their own whether Global Justice liked it or not.

"Well, I guess I can spare a few minutes," Shego said with a smile and that caused Kim to smile, too.

-8-8-8-8-

The End.


End file.
